


Corrupt Me

by FaerieMayden



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Based off roleplay, Beware the man who speaks in hands, Blue - Freeform, Blue is demisexual, Body Horror, Boss - Freeform, Breeding Kink, Chipping, Darkblitz8/Paragon - Freeform, Death, Drug Use, Dysfunctional Relationships, Edge - Freeform, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Flowey - Freeform, Fontcest, Frottage, Gen, Genocide Run, Getting high, Graphic depictions of violence - Freeform, Grinding, Illustrations, Impregnation Kink, Incest, Ink!Sans - Freeform, Insanity, Knotting, M/M, Manipulation, Marijuana, Mates, Mating Cycles/In Heat, More tags to be added, Narcolepsy, POV Fuckery, Papyrus - Freeform, Past Rape, Plot Twists, Profanity, Red - Freeform, Resets, Saints beware, Sans - Freeform, Self-Harm, Slow Burn, Slurs, Smoking, Soul Mingling, Soul Sex, Temporal Loopholes, This is a lotta sin right here, Time Shenanigans, Underfell, Weed, basically chipping is the skeletons version of self-harm, betrayal kills, child prostitution, core!Frisk, different rules/headcanons for different universes, edgeberry, error!sans - Freeform, gasterblaster!sans, gasterblaster(?)!Papyrus, genocide run without frisk, graphic depictions of death, headcanons, honeymustard - Freeform, implied rape, non consensual sex, noncon, sex while high, sin - Freeform, so many headcanons, soul mates, sub/dom dynamics, tobacco, underswap - Freeform, undertale - Freeform, undertale papyrus would be proud, unusual lack of puns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-06-03 06:43:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 58,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6600856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaerieMayden/pseuds/FaerieMayden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arc I: Underfell Sans and Papyrus come to the Underswap universe.<br/><i>Chapters 1-8; 30,026 Wordcount.</i><br/>Arc II: Dark, Darker Yet Darker. Now with 100% less Gaster! Angst and feelings will be coming out of your ears. Plot-twist galore!<br/>Arc III: ??<br/>Arc IV: ??</p><p>Underfell Sans and Papyrus get into a fight. There's a mysterious distortion in the space-time continuum, being caused by a strange presence...Sans attempts to teleport to get away from the surely violent fight, but ends up taking his brother with him to an alternate universe where everyone is disgustingly nice.</p><p>EDIT: Now updates every Friday!<br/>EDIT: Gonna try to start updating regularly again. :><br/>EDIT: I've made it my goal to finish this story by it's one year anniversary, regardless of when exactly I update it.</p><p>Description Last Updated: 1/9/17<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Near-Death Experience

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of a roleplay with a friend! Gotta be the best roleplay I've ever had. <3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Underfell Sans and Papyrus get into a fight. There's a mysterious distortion in the space-time continuum, being caused by a strange presence...Sans attempts to teleport to get away from the surely violent fight, but ends up taking his brother with him to an alternate universe where everyone is disgustingly nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be art in this fic, just so everyone knows! Both me and my friend are artists and constantly draw fanart of our favorite scenes.  
> If you draw some art, please feel free to share! Tell us whether or not you'd be okay with it, but if we like it a whole lot, we might incorporate it into the text! <3 Enjoy, my darlings!

Sans winced as he felt himself being shoved up against the wall and pinned there by his younger brother. He'd been caught sleeping on the job again, and as was per usual, Papyrus got pissed and would yell at him for it before "putting him in his place". Sans hadn't meant to fall asleep--it wasn't like he could help it. He never told Papyrus, not wanting to hear another mouthful of how pathetic he was with his list of problems, but he had a bad case of narcolepsy. One moment he'd be sitting awake in his station, and the next he would be shaken awake by his angry brother, being yelled at for having fallen asleep on the job. Again.

Sans struggled futilely under the other's unrelenting grip, hissing in protest as he felt the other dig his phalanges deeper into his radius. "You worthless sack of shit," Papyrus barked, causing Sans to wince. But he said nothing as his brother continued to degrade him. As Sans continued to lack in giving any response, Papyrus grew more angry. "Answer me, you miserable slob!" Sans continued to not respond, thinking about whether or not he had enough magic stored to make a teleport to get out of there. He tried to not use magic too much, but if this didn't stop, Papyrus would risk dusting him. It wouldn't be the first time either, even if Papyrus didn't remember having done it before.

Gathering all of his magic, Sans closed his eyes and forced himself to relax. Papyrus' voice begun to fade out as he felt time and space wrap around his fingertips like silken string. He envisioned where he wanted to teleport, somewhere nearby as so he wouldn't completely drain himself, but away from Papyrus where he hopefully wouldn't be found, at least immediately. When he found a good place, he grabbed one of the imaginary strings in his fist, though to Papyrus it appeared as if he was grasping air. One moment they're standing in his room, Sans pinned to the wall, and the next they're in the middle of what appears to be their living room, but different.

"What did you do?" Papyrus growled, looking around. It was their house...and yet not their house. Sans didn't know how to answer the other skeleton's harsh inquiry, however, and merely shrugged. But then they heard the sound of something coming from upstairs, where they had presumably been just moments before.

Sans--a different Sans--had heard a thumping sound coming from downstairs, and had assumed his brother had returned with the soup. He hadn't been feeling well today, and his brother had for once gotten up and said he'd do what he could to make him feel better quickly so he could get back to his patrols. Papyrus may be a lazybones, Sans thought, but he was a loving brother and deep down, the small skeleton knew that he wouldn't ever ask for a better brother, no matter what.

But when Sans got out of his bed and went to the hall, then stopped at the top of the stairs overlooking the living room, he did not see his brother in the middle of the room. At least, not the brother he knew. Pinning another Monster that looked eerily like him was a much more mean-looking looking skeleton, that appeared to be Papyrus but much more intimidating, with teeth cut to sharp points, a scar tracing the upper and lower part of the left eye socket, and sharp, intimidating battle armor. Of course, the danger of the situation didn't register. "Wowie! You guys look pretty scary!" Sans exclaimed. He figured that this had something to do with the RESETs he sometimes heard Papyrus muttering about when he thought Sans wasn't listening. That made the most sense after all, even if the whole idea of alternate timelines in general didn't make much sense to him. There were only two known skeletons in the Underground, after all!

"Uhh...my name's Sans!" Sans said, tone nasally as he sniffled--somehow, without a nose. "What're your names?" He was about to make his way down the stairs, because being at their level was polite after all! But a subtle shift in the tall intimidating skeleton's expression made him think better of it. He still wore his smile though. Maybe they were friendly? He'd always been told that it wasn't nice to judge others by their appearances, after all! But the way the taller skeleton was standing on the smaller one looked pretty painful...maybe they were roleplaying? Undyne talked about roleplaying sometimes.

"Our names don't matter," Papyrus told the other version of Sans. "What does matter is how I managed to get another pathetic pet. I'll enjoy destroying you." As Papyrus said this, he shoved his Sans the rest of the way to the ground, digging his heel into the other's cerebral column and smirking in satisfaction at the muted groan of pain that he got in response. The Sans on the staircase gasped, about to turn and try to run--okay, definitely _not_ roleplay--when he felt a cold sensation wash over his soul. The upside-down soul is drawn forcefully from his chest, opaque mist fading as he feels the other skeleton cast a gravity spell, rooting him to the spot. He was encased in the red magic, it dying his soul the same color. It was like some sort of reversed version of his Special Attack! In any other situation, Sans would be ecstatic. However, the fact that it was being used against him in a way that meant harm was not really anything to be excited over.

Suddenly Papyrus jerked his hand to the side, Sans being forced to follow as he is thrown to a wall with a painful crack. Immediately after several bones whiz towards him, narrowly missing striking his ribs and holding the poor skeleton to the wall. Papyrus gave another swift kick towards his Sans before stalking over, heels clicking on the hardwood. His hand raised, dismissing the gravity magic and instead summoning a pointed bone into existence. He stopped just a foot away from Sans, pressing the bone up to the other's cheekbone.

Sans leaned away from the bone, attempting to get away from it to no avail. Papyrus smirked a cruel smirk before reeling back and then savagely reaching the bone forward, impaling Sans in the cheekbone. The bone there shatters and Sans lets out an agonized scream. From the other side of the room, laying prone and wheezing in pain, the more aggressive looking Sans let a smirk crawl onto his expression. It was clear that the other wasn't trained--very little, if at all, and it felt nice to not be the only one that Papyrus attacked anymore, even if his alternate self would probably be dusted within the next few minutes.

Sans could feel his health steadily dropping with each of the brutal attacks, and yet Papyrus might as well have been being gentle, with how high his LV was. Sans looked up with pleading eyes towards his alternate self, pleading for help as the bones remained impaling him in several places. But no help came.

"W-what do you want?" Sans stammered, blue tears gathering in the corners of his eye sockets, threatening to spill. His expression, once cheerful, had morphed into something of thinly veiled terror. He felt conflict wash over him--he both wanted his brother to come in and rescue him, and yet for the other to remain gone until long after he was dusted. He was aware of his brother's singular HP, and didn't want to have his brother be put in danger to try and protect him. This Monster looked powerful, too, and as far as Sans knew, Papyrus was absolutely no match.

The only response Sans is granted is the other Papyrus adjusting his grip on the bone that had been stabbed through his face, and roughly tearing it out. Sans let out another muted whimper, twitching as hot pain shot throughout his entire body. "Where the _fuck_ are we?" Papyrus demanded. "And who are you?" Hardly waiting for a response, Papyrus twirled his sharpened bone in his grasp before using the tip of it to force Sans' jaw up, making the smallest skeleton in the household look him in the eyes as he degraded him much the same way he would his own brother. "How are you supposed to defend yourself when you're so weak? Fucking pathetic." He said, tone dark, and Sans whimpered at the insults. His Papyrus would never say such things--in fact, nobody he knew would say such things, and the words stung more than he thought they would. To enunciate his point, Papyrus reared up and with the point of his heel carefully poised, kicked forward and dug his shoe right into Sans' knee cap. Sans let out a shrill shriek of agony as he felt his knee chip and crack under the force of the blow, his health dropping steadily lower with the abuse.

Papyrus voice had promised pain, and Sans was only making it more painful by not replying--it was a vicious cycle, for the reason he wasn't replying was because he was already in pain. "Y-you're in my house! In Snowdin! I-I already told you that my name is Sans!" Sans choked on a sob, completely unused to such pain. A part of him wished the other would just kill him, all he knew right now was pain and confusion. Why was this happening? How had it happened? Would he make it out alive?

As if his racing thoughts had been answered, he heard the door off to his right open. Papyrus--his Papyrus--had come home! Carrying two grocery bags and with a cigarette in the corner of his mouth stood the orange-clad skeleton, looking pretty stunned with the scene before him. It took him a moment to register the sight of his brother looking at him pleadingly with eyes a blank, pained void, hanging prone to the wall from the gaps in his bones. "Pappy!" Sans cried, and that was all it took before the skeleton lunged into action. 

Papyrus wouldn't have taken nearly as long if he'd not walked all the way to the store and back. He could just teleport; honestly, that was the way he preferred. However, there had been a noticeable disturbance in the time-space continuum lately, and he knew that by teleporting, he not only risked ending up somewhere he didn't want, but also risked making it worse. Though Papyrus didn't know the true depth of the consequences, it seemed that upon getting home that it didn't matter if he perpetuated the issue or not. Because whether he chose to believe it or not, his brother was on the brink of death hanging from a wall while two strange skeletons stood in his home, one still prone on the ground and the other being the cause of his little brother's agony.

Papyrus' hand withdrew from his pocket, glowing a faint orange along with his right eye socket as he summoned two Gaster Blasters, aiming carefully for the other Papyrus. If not to hit, then to attempt to get him away long enough for Papyrus to get his poor brother off of the wall and somewhere safe. And yet, Papyrus knew that he couldn't just rescue his brother and flee--he'd be putting the whole underground in danger by letting this...whoever he was, roam wherever he pleased. He chomped down aggravatedly on his cigarette when his alternate self swiftly dodged his attack, as if it had been nothing. Papyrus was known for his speed, and so this guy had to be pretty strong to evade his attacks so easily.

"Hey bud, I don't think my bro likes what you're doing very much," Papyrus said, tone dark. Sans looked at his brother, shocked--he'd never heard the dark tone before, at least in this timeline. But Papyrus was painfully familiar with it--he used it whenever he was particularly stressed out, or grieving. He cast gravity magic on his alternate self, greatly slowing the other down, something that would hopefully prove helpful for Papyrus as they engaged in combat. "I'd back off if I were you, or you might find that you're not going to have a very good time." The other Papyrus cackled at his words, gesturing over to his own version of Sans as he scooted over towards the nearest wall, pushing himself against it with a pained groan. He was in immense pain. "You shouldn't let your affection for someone else blind you. It is a weakness. You are both pathetic, and I will _destroy_ you."

Papyrus cast a glance at his alternate's Sans, curled up and looking small propped up against the wall. The orange-clad skeleton was glad that he didn't need to worry about him immediately, and did not have two targets to attack. He could deal with his brother's alternate later anyways. He wasn't a fan of foul play, and didn't want to involve someone that didn't need to be involved. Evil or not. "The fact you have more LOVE than love isn't a very attractive sight, y'know," Papyrus sighed. "My brother is the coolest brother, and the fact that you can't see what I see isn't surprising, but definitely disappointing." Even though Sans lay still pinned to the wall, fueling Papyrus' anger and threatening to boil over, he merely shot a wave of blue bones from the ground in an attempt to trap the other rather than actually hurt him. Sans had always talked about Mercy and how it was important to have it, no matter the situation.

"Just because I haven't attacked anyone, doesn't mean that I'm weak though." He cast a glance at his brother, whom was staring right back, wide-eyed. He'd certainly never seen such raw power on this timeline, and Papyrus cast him a warm, reassuring smile and a wink before turning his attention back to his alternate self. "Honestly, just try and hit me. See where it gets you." Typically he wasn't one to taunt, but this guy looked easily angered; maybe he could use that to his advantage.

"Where I come from, LOVE is the difference between life and death," Papyrus said. "Love...it is a weakness." The tallest skeleton got an idea, and with a flick of his wrist, cast an attack. His alternate, slightly shorter and more lax self prepared to cast a defense, but could have never anticipated the bones instead going for his brother, this time aiming for the bones. The sound of shattering bones, quickly followed by a hoarse, agonized shriek as Sans writhed from his spot pinned to the wall, feeling his health fall into the single digits. "Now...this is where I use it against you. Don't attack me, or your brother dies."


	2. Foul Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Underfell Papyrus is playing a dirty game by holding Underswap Sans' life over his alternate's head. What will Underswap Papyrus do?  
> Maybe he'll get some unexpected help...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wtf where have all of you people come from?? This story is already like 10x as popular as any of my other stories, and some of them have been up for a few months if not longer! This one was posted about four hours ago!  
> My grandmother said just enjoy it, but it's just so weird. >.>  
> On with the story!

"That is a really fuckin' low blow, pal," Papyrus said, fists clenching tight, shoulders hunching as he thought of some way to get out of this. He couldn't remember the last time he'd sworn; Sans had always scolded him for it. But this was one of the last things on his mind right now. Thinking fast, he reached to the side with his hand, and grabbed at the other Sans' soul with his gravity magic. He didn't know how much the other Papyrus valued his own brother. Perhaps it was just a facade that he was so dismissive of his brother's life, but it was his best bet. He raised the other into the air, five Gaster Blasters surrounding the other and maws spread, prepared to fire at a moment's notice. Papyrus' expression was visibly tense. His breathing was coming a bit more labored, orange, magic-cast beads of sweat slipping down his skull under the pressure of the situation. "Let. Him. Go." He said. "He doesn't deserve this. And neither does your bro, but if you do anything to him..." He trailed off. He never would have thought he'd sink to his opponent's level, but he was desperate.

"Put me down, you major fuckin' ass. He doesn't care what happens to me." Sans grumbled, seemingly unphased by the imminent threat, but deep down he was a bit disturbed. To Papyrus' horror, his brother's alternate was telling the truth as his own other self spoke up. "He's right, you know. In fact, let me help you out..." Before Papyrus could react, the tallest skeleton in the household had fired a wave of bones not only at his own brother, but at Papyrus' brother as well. The latter had bones aimed directly for his soul, and when it made contact, Sans cried out in a sound that Papyrus didn't think was possible to make. His HP was at one now, as he barely clung onto life, sobbing pathetically as he hung defenseless and at the other's (lack of) Mercy. 

Papyrus, maybe a bit more gently than he would like, placed the other Sans back on the ground. He couldn't believe that his alternate self was so hateful that he harbored no affection at all for his brother. What the Hell kind of universe did they come from, to have so much hate in their souls? Papyrus didn't understand. "P-Paps...?" His brother whimpered weakly, soul cracked badly and shuddering, threatening to break to pieces and turn him to dust at any moment. Papyrus' mind whirled--he could feign giving up, and then backstab his alternate self. But the kid wasn't here--hadn't been for several timelines--and if things were to go the wrong way, activating a RESET wasn't nearly as easy. Could he really risk doing something so reckless, possibly at the expense of his brother's own life? No. Looking at his brother again, Papyrus felt sick to his stomach--whether he had one or not. He sunk to his knees, staring at his lap with eye sockets void of their lights. "How could you do this?" Papyrus asked, genuinely curious as his tone became more subdued. "What could you possibly gain?"

"For power," his alternate self replied simply, stalking over and kicking Papyrus back, pressing his heel to the sternum of the skeleton at his Mercy. "That is all that matters in the world, is always being at the top. But you're too fucking soft, and could never hope to understand just how _good_ it feels to make you _hurt_." Papyrus chuckled, increasing the pressure. " **Now d i e.** "

One moment Papyrus is about to lose his single hit point, and the next his alternate self is pinned to the ground by a bone, right through the back of the ribs. It took Papyrus a moment to register the sudden turning of the tables, but once it does, he's immediately in action. The bone that impaled Papyrus' darker self was red, and with a start Papyrus realized that it had been thrown by the other's own brother. He didn't take time to question it however, thanking his luck as he quickly surrounds the other in a cage of blue bones, effectively incapacitating him.

While the alternate Sans looked like he was about to have a meltdown upon realizing he'd betrayed his brother, Papyrus ran over to his own Sans and was quick to tear the thick bones free from the other's rib cage. The other's battle body was utterly destroyed, beyond any hope of repair. They would have to make another one then, when they decided what to do with their two alternate versions. Papyrus finally tore the final bone that was pinning his brother, catching Sans as he fell from the wall in a crumpled heap against Papyrus. Sans sobbed almost silently into his shoulder, almost too weak to even express his pain. "Paps..." He whispered, before being silenced by the skeleton in question. "Shh, it's okay now, bro. You're okay now." With this reassurance, Papyrus' brother finally slipped unconscious. Turning to the other Sans, Papyrus gave the other skeleton an expression that displayed mixed feelings. "Uhh...thanks," he said somewhat awkwardly.

"Don't thank me. I don't need it," Sans grumbled, glancing off to the side with an irritable expression on his face. Papyrus noticed the sharp teeth--something similar to what his own alternate had--and the single golden one that seemed to glint with the expression. How appropriate. The considerably darker looking Sans looked over at his brother, whom glared daggers right back, promising a painful death. Sans was quick to look away and back at the Underswap brothers. He was jealous, but disgusted--his brother had never given him that sort of attention, but at the same time, what gave them the right to be so happy? How _could_ they be so happy? It was disgusting and made Sans feel sick to his stomach.

"You saved his life," Papyrus insisted, though he didn't push it. He was a little mixed up, in that moment. Was this Sans any sort of threat? Sure he'd just pinned his own brother down in a critical moment, but they were from the same place, and he looked almost just as sinister. Maybe a bit more on the lazy side...not unlike Papyrus himself. He deduced this from the other's somewhat hunched posture, but it could be from something else. Papyrus decided not to dwell on it too much. Instead, he took to watching his brother, waiting anxiously for him to wake back up. After a few minutes, Papyrus spoke up again, "feel free to sit down for now, I suppose." This was immensely, impossibly awkward and Papyrus didn't really know what to do. He couldn't make heads or tails of the situation--how had these two even gotten here? Surely they were from an alternate timeline of some sort, Papyrus could tell that much. 

After a little while, Papyrus was able to heal his brother some more. At twelve HP, he begun to stir. Blue eye sockets cracked open, and there is a brief moment where the two of them stare at one another before Sans rockets up, tackling Papyrus in an embrace and breaking down into hysterical sobs. "I was so scared!" He exclaimed, "brother, I'm so glad you're okay!" They just sat like this for a bit, comforting each other. Once they finally back away from each other, Sans looks at the other Papyrus with an unreadable expression, then shifts his gaze towards the other Sans. "You helped save me, right?" He asked, pupils forming stars from within the confines of the iris. "Wowie! Thanks!" It was like Sans hadn't suddenly almost died, and like a fretting mother hen, Papyrus asked him to calm down. "Brother, you realize what this means, right?" Sans asked, turning to his orange-clad brother. Said brother shrugged. "That means they're not completely bad!" What exactly was the smaller skeleton getting at...? "The other Papyrus really hurt me, that's true..." He paused, expression darkening for a moment before brightening again. He beamed up at his brother, "but maybe we can make him good?" 

What?


	3. Kill Him With Kindness!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Underswap Papyrus, by pure luck, manages to incapacitate his alternate self.  
> Sans believes that he can be "saved".  
> So what does he do to try and ease the undeniable tension?  
> Make tacos for dinner, of course!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay seriously. Where are all of you people coming from.  
> I like to imagine that the height from tallest to shortest is as follows:  
> Underfell Papyrus - Underswap Papyrus - Underfell Sans - Underswap Sans  
> Can't wait to get to the part where everyone has nicknames. Jfc--even coming up with different titles to distinguish, I feel kind of mixed up. If anyone needs me to clarify, please don't hesitate to let me know!  
> Without further ado, here's the third installment to "Corrupt Me"!

"Saving someone doesn't mean jack shit," Sans grumbled, looking over at his brother. The skeleton was shifting, being in an uncomfortable position. However, the bones flashed and were quick to inflict damage upon contact. Papyrus winced, but wasn't hurt too bad by it. He had plenty of HP to accommodate the damage--but trying to escape, at the time being, didn't seem safe with three skeletons against him and the bones to drag him down along the way. Sans hadn't failed to catch the murder in his younger brother's eyes at the betrayal. But he just let a small smirk crawl onto his face, sending another row of bones whizzing at his brother. His smirk grew when he saw Papyrus wince. That felt way better than it should have.

"If you think for a single fucking second that you're going to be able to let me out of here without murdering you on the spot, then you're sorrowfully and _painfully_ mistaken," grumbled the Papyrus that was locked up in the bone cage. "My two cents on your to-be attempt at 'saving' me? Good fucking _luck_."

Papyrus shook his head at his brother's seemingly endless enthusiasm. He'd always envied it. But perhaps this was one time where it wouldn't win the situation. Looking at the other Papyrus, he had at least a violence level of fifteen, and it wouldn't be a surprise if it were even higher. It would be next to impossible to fix someone that far gone. "I dunno, bro..." He hummed, but Sans waved his hands for him to be quiet, giving him big blue eyes and he hated that. He really did. 

"Please, brother? Just give them a chance?" He seemed to ignore the other Sans' and Papyrus' sarcastic remark and threat, respectively. It wasn't like the other Papyrus could do much from where he was, anyways. Papyrus couldn't help the bolt of satisfaction that shot through him when he noticed his bones had knocked the other's HP down a bit, though he was quick to squash it. Not a good place to get such feelings from--it would leave room for corruption to seep in. 

"That guy inn't leaving his restraints for a long time," Papyrus said, casting a side-glance at the still-confined Papyrus. "And I have my doubts about his bro, too." His gaze shifts back over to the other Sans. "It'd probably be good to just get rid of them." But Sans was still refusing, shaking his head. He sighed, relenting somewhat. He briefly thought of confining the other Sans as well, but then figured his brother wouldn't like the thought without a good reason, and dismissed the thought. "I'm not letting you out of my sight so long as he has free reign of this place," he said, and Sans gasped, giddy. "Wowie! Thanks so much, brother! I'll fix them eventually, don't worry! I promise!" Papyrus hated promises, but thought that maybe, with that much optimism, they'd get somewhere. Even if the chances of it working seemed to still be somewhere around a decimal point. "Don't try anything funny," he told the other Sans. "You saved my bro as well as probably my own life, but that doesn't mean we're gonna be all buddy-buddy." He reached into his pocket, pulling out another cigarette. With a flick of magic, he lit it, pinching it between his teeth and taking a long drag, visibly relaxing. Sans cast him a glare, but he just shrugged, chuckling.

Despite him having chosen his side, the other Sans was utterly disgusted. The clear brotherly love between the Underswap brothers was absolutely appaling--they loved each other so much; it was goopey, and affectionate, and so unlike his own relationship with his brother that it made Sans want to throw up rainbows. Okay, so maybe not really, but it was still pretty gross, and he looked away, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. He would never admit that deep down, he secretly craved such a relationship.

"I don't want to be your 'buddy'," Sans said, using both hands to use air quotes. "In all honesty? I can't agree with my brother's logic in attacking you more. I just don't strike without a reason." Papyrus shot a glare at the shorter Underfell brother for this remark, mumbling an "don't strike without a reason? Then what reason did you have for attacking your bro?" under his breath, but not looking a gift horse in the mouth. He briefly worried that, with this logic, he was putting Blue in danger by not just locking up both brothers, but the slack posture that he saw helped to disarm him. "If you plan on killing us, just get it over with. Making us just sit and wait for it is cruel." Sans said, glaring at the two Underswap brothers. "You two are sappy and disgusting, and it makes me want to just give you a reason to run a bone through my soul." He snorted in disgust as if to enunciate his point.

"If you were smart, you wouldn't lash out," Papyrus said to the third to shortest skeleton. "I probably wouldn't end up killing you, and just put you in a bone cage like your psychotic brother there." He cocked his head in the direction of said 'psychotic' brother. "Between you and me, that doesn't really look very comfortable. So enjoy your semi-freedom." Papyrus sat down with his brother on the green sofa, raising a brow bone in question when he realized his little-big brother's alternate had not moved from his spot propped up against the wall. "You may not be exactly in my good graces, but you don't have to sit on the floor." He said, jerking his head towards the open spot on the sofa. As he said this, Sans--his Sans--suddenly stood up and walked over to the bone cage, stopping just outside of arm's reach and sitting down Indian Style. "Hey," he greeted, a bit more softly. He had gathered from his alternate self's commentary on his peppy nature that his enthusiasm was overwhelming, so to make them happy he would tone it down somewhat! At least, until they got used to him! "We can't just call you Papyrus, 'cause we already have a Papyrus...so, do you have any ideas?" The Papyrus in question just chuckled darkly. "You can call me Boss, like the other useless sack of shit does. Because we _all_ know that I'm worlds better than you." Sans didn't seem to really like the context behind the choice of nickname, but he would simply roll with it. It would have to change soon though, because Sans knew that his own brother would never agree to such a name! "Language," he chided, getting a scoff but pointedly ignoring it before turning to his alternate self. He mentally fist-pumped the air at the thought of coming up with a creative name for the other skeleton in the future, determination pumping him up. "And you, other me? What would you like for a name?"

Meanwhile, Sans was glaring daggers at the much more calm, lax Papyrus. He didn't move an inch--sitting on the couch was a bit too much for him right now. Papyrus--whatever, calling him Boss _did_ make distinguishing easier, and it wasn't like he didn't call his brother that aloud already--had never let him be on the couch, unless they'd...he shook the thought from his head before it could get in too deep. The last thing he needed right now was for emotions to crowd his thoughts and scatter his perception of the situation he'd somehow managed to land himself in. He instead focused on the aching pain in his chest; something he was used to, but would rather live without. It hurt like a bitch, and he was a good deal certain that at least one rib was fractured, but he said nothing. The injuries hadn't made any sort of contact with his soul, and so he would not take any damage. If he didn't take damage, then regular healing magic wouldn't work. He would just have to put up with it like he always did; maybe find some bandages somewhere, if he didn't get himself killed.

"Ooh--wait! I have an idea!" Sans suddenly exclaimed, snapping his alternate self out of his thoughts with a wince at the loudness of his other self. How could they ever be the same person from another universe? They were practical polar opposites. "How about Red?" The newly dubbed Red just shrugged. "Red? Sure, whatever." He didn't really care--the name was simple, but oddly nice in comparison to some of the names he was called by Boss. Anything other than "whore" and "fuck toy" was just fine for him. Sans had been honestly expecting his alternate self to fight against the nickname, but supposed he should be grateful that it was so easily accepted! He nodded in approval. "Awesome! It's great to know someone's coming around!" He cheered, his chipper attitude returning for the moment, before he calmed down again. He was unaware of the true reason Red had accepted his nickname so easily, but perhaps that was for the best. At least for now.

Papyrus didn't know about Red's injuries, but his lack of movement had made him a bit...he didn't really know, honestly. He just felt the need to go over and ask if something was the matter. At least, in a discreet manner. And so he shifted from his lax position, shuffling off of the couch and over to the other, flopping down beside him, albeit giving him some space at the same time. "Hey man, you doin' alright?" He asked, raising a brow bone. Red just shrugged, dismissive of the other as well as his own injuries. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." He said when Papyrus didn't let up. Why wasn't he just getting up and walking away? Red didn't understand. He scooted away from Papyrus as much as he could, feeling uncomfortable and suddenly homesick--something he'd never thought he would ever feel. The kindness was something he wasn't used to, and it was making him uncomfortable. Add the feeling of being suffocated to the mix as he becomes suddenly very aware of just how close the other skeleton is to him. How close he looks to Boss, despite being so different--he thought he might throw up, for the third or forth time since arriving here, but manages to stop himself from doing so.

Papyrus was admittedly a bit put out by the other's reluctance to open up, but he understood perfectly at the same time why that would be the case. They'd all been in a clusterfuck of a fight not even fifteen minutes ago, almost costing two lives. Papyrus put just a bit more distance between the two of them, because Red looked uncomfortable. He hesitated for a moment before speaking up, "hey ah, sorry by the way. For threatening you, I mean. It was a really bad move on my part." He made an unconditional note that he never, ever sink to someone's level again. It only made things harder for everyone involved. Suddenly, Sans stood up, one hand raised and an index pointing at the ceiling. "Aha! I know just what to do to brighten the mood! Give me a few minutes!" With this being said, the small, peppy skeleton started towards the kitchen, intent on making some tacos to help everyone loosen up. Papyrus watched him go by following Sans' movement with a turn of his head, but returned his attention to Red once he vanished from sight. With a sigh, Papyrus stood up and sat back down on the couch. They wouldn't get anywhere if he pressed their boundaries too fast. 

The entire time Sans was absent from the room, Papyrus spent having a hard time not firing dirty glares at "Boss". He wanted nothing more than to make his blue bones close in and and finish the asshole off, but not only would that upset everyone else in the house, but Boss would probably just stay still to avoid being hit and then use his freedom to slaughter everyone. He knew that none of them would be as lucky a second time, were Boss to get free. Everyone would be a victim of the other's raw power.

"I'm used to it," Red finally grumbled at some point, after several minutes had passed in silence with Papyrus absently glaring at his alternate self. "I'm actually surprised that you didn't kill me. With all this kindness around, I almost wish you had." It was a lie and he knew it, but Papyrus didn't need to know that. Besides--Boss would just laugh at his pathetic thoughts if he shared them, and he didn't need the extra abuse right now. He curled up in the corner, shutting his eyes and contemplating his chances of dying quickly if he just teleported out of the house. Somehow however, he knew better. If he'd done it in his own timeline, the dogs of the royal guard would have gotten him anyways. He wasn't completely harmless--he had a LV of six, not that he'd wanted to kill anyone in the first place. But that was another story for another time--but he didn't really know what to expect in such a strange, seemingly harmless place. Who knows--maybe someone would find a way to kill him with kindness.

Papyrus was taken completely aback by Red's response to his apology. This dude was some sort of bizarre suicidal, and he felt that a good deal concerning. Evil alternate self or not, Red was still his brother in a certain way, and he had to express some sort of concern. Just what had Boss done to his brother, exactly, for him to value his own life so little? "Well, you don't have to be used to it anymore," he offered as he'd stood up. Because everything was going to be different now; there was no room for pretending this wasn't the case.

"Hey _buddy_ ," Boss said with a dark voice. "Why not loosen up the bones a bit so I can move around? I'm not in exactly the most comfortable of positions here." Papyrus just shot another glare at his alternate, shaking his head. "You knew the answer before you even asked. You brought that upon yourself by doing what you did, and I know that if I loosened up at all, you'd find a way to escape. I'm not stupid." Boss grumbled at this, but said nothing more as Sans returned to the room, a plate of taco toppings on one arm, taco shells on the other, and two hands carefully holding four plates before setting them out on the coffee table. Papyrus stood up, walking over. "Looks delicious, bro."

"Yup! I can't wait until they can try my delicious homemade tacos!" Sans beamed, turning to Red. "What would you like on your taco, Red?"

But Red seemed to be caught in the conversation he'd been having with Papyrus. "I can't let myself get used to this," he said, and just like that, Boss butt into the conversation. "You're the reason you're living the life you are and we are where we are now, you useless piece of shit. Don't even pretend you aren't," Boss shouted. Red scoffed. "I tried to teleport to get away from you before you fucking killed me. It's not like I meant to teleport us through paradox space." Boss just barked a bitter, humorless laugh. "You shouldn't have tried running away in the first place! You deserve _every single beating you get_ , and you _know_ it!" Red just looked away, tugging at his jacket sleeves before stuffing his hands into his hoodie pockets. Boss chuckled. "You know I'm right, don't you? Glad to have reminded you when it's wise to shut the fuck up. You're already in so much trouble when I get out of here. Pray that I'll have the Mercy in my soul to dust you by the time I'm done."

Papyrus and Sans both watched this threatening exchange with expressions quickly falling, Papyrus with a sort of sympathetic sadness and Sans a much more visible, distraught frown. How could the two of them--brothers!--say such things to each other? It was quickly one-sided, and Papyrus figured out pretty quick how Red could hate his life so much. He couldn't imagine ever being treated that way--or, Queen Toriel forbid, he treat his Sans that way. Especially on a daily basis. "That is _enough_." Papyrus said, tone much more stern than his usual laid-back. He had to put his foot down now. "This is my house, and I won't allow you to shittalk your bro like that. If you want your space to get any more cramped, keep it up." Even his Sans seemed to be taken aback by his I-won't-take-your-shit tone, shrinking back a bit as if he was the one being reprimanded. Upon spotting this, Papyrus relaxed again, stuffing his own hands into his hoodie pockets. His jaw's grip slackened on the cigarette he had pinched between his teeth.

The tension was tangible in the air--but Sans was the one to break it, laughing nervously and repeating his question. "Red, what would you like on your tacos?" Red grumbled before reluctantly listing what he'd like out of the toppings on the plate, and Sans happily loads up the taco. He gives Boss the same when he outright refuses to say anything, then loads his own taco with meat, cheese, sour cream, and a small mountain of lettuce. "I hope everyone enjoys!" He cheered, before taking the first bite.

Sans glanced over upon realizing that Red had not yet touched his taco. He was already half done with his first! "Red, is something the matter?" He asked. Red just shrugged. "I'm just not used to getting this much food, and...I'm supposed to eat last, right?" The two skeletons didn't fail to notice the sweat that begun to bead on Red's skull, seeing his eyelights in his sockets dim and shrink. Clear signs of anxiety, if they ever did see it. Though it was so strange, because with Papyrus being so laid back and Sans so cheerful, it rarely happened. Really whenever they'd seen it before would be after one of Papyrus' nightmares of alternate timelines, when Sans would have to shake him awake, yelling with blue tears clouding his eye sockets-- 

Papyrus shook the memory from his head. That had been awhile ago, and he didn't need to worry about it now. 

Sans shook his head. "No, you can eat with us! Don't worry! Besides, by the time we're done, it'll probably be cold!" He gently shoved Red's plate closer to him. "Why do you think you'd have to wait?" He didn't understand, but then he regretted asking the question. Maybe it had something to do with the anxious behavior he was expressing? "You don't have to answer that." Sans wasn't dumb, after all! He could tell when someone was at their wits' end. "But please, do eat! And feel free to share what you think!" Papyrus stood, moving so that Sans was on one side of Red, and him on the other. He felt like the skeleton might need the reassurance that nothing was wrong. They both made sure to keep a good distance from Red altogether, but perhaps just...being there in general would make things a bit better?

Red took a tentative bite of the taco, just barely managing to stop his expression from conveying shock at the flavor. Sans was looking at him expectantly, eyes bright. "Well?" He asked, and Red paused. "It's...really good, actually," he admitted. Sans looked like he might just explode from the compliment. "Wowie! I'm so glad you like it! Please, eat as much as you like!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abrupt ending, but I'm kinda tired of writing right now. Will update again soon, my lovelies! <3


	4. Heart-to-Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus learns a dark secret about Red, and in turn shares some of his own...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. I'll beta when I get time. I had a very busy day today that pushed me to updating after 11:00 at night.  
> Sorry if Red seems a bit too emotional here. Red and Paps' relationship is intentionally somewhat rushed in this story--the burn comes with Edgeberry.  
> So enjoy the fourth installment--I'll see y'all Monday!  
> EDIT: Eh, I decided to just do it all in one sitting...it's been beta'd, so if you see any errors or have any suggestions beyond this point for this chapter, please feel free to share!! It's 11:40 though...eugh, I'm exhausted.  
> EDIT 4/23/16: Beta'd a second time. Found and fixed a couple more things to make it flow better.

Papyrus, after sitting down for awhile and finishing his first taco, suddenly got up and headed into the kitchen. Red watched him with a curious brow-bone raised as he left, and the expression quickly turned to one of incredulousness when he returned not even a minute later with a bottle of honey in hand. He sat down and clicked the cap open, pressing the nozzle to his lips and starting to suckle at the sticky liquid, as it would not come free with him just tilting his head back.

Red made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat, face scrunching up to project as big a grimace as a skeleton’s face could manage. Papyrus pulled away after a moment, a sort of glint in his eye as he prepared another taco before proceeding to drench it in the sticky condiment(?). Now it was Sans’ turn to be disgusted--he was used to his brother’s weird habits, but that was just disgusting! It ruined his delicious masterpiece, in his eyes. “Eww, brother, that’s just gross!” Sans exclaimed. Papyrus just shrugged, a mischievous smile on his face as he took a bite of his taco.

“Do you like condiments, Red?” Papyrus asked when things had finally settled down again. Red went rigid, becoming visibly nervous again--was it a trick question? He hadn’t been planning to say anything about his own favorite condiment, as he hadn’t been...trained to ask questions. But alas, he wasn’t going to lie, and nodded before hesitantly answering. “I’m not going to lie--I have it pretty bad for mustard,” he said. Before Papyrus could respond, Sans shot up to his feet, beaming.

“We should have some mustard left over from last week’s hamburgers! Lemme go check!” He exclaimed, fist pumping the air before running off towards the kitchen. It’s an awkward silence for a long moment, before a snicker cuts it. It had come from Boss--clear mockery of Red’s strange eating habits, if not also Sans’ peppy behavior. “Disgusting, you’re all disgusting,” Boss remarked. The two brothers both pretended not to notice that the other spoke.

Finally, suddenly, Sans returned, a yellow bottle half full of mustard in one hand. He slammed it down on the table so hard that it caused Red to flinch, before blinking up at the hyperactive skeleton. Where in the world did he even get all of that energy? Did he drink ten cups of coffee before the day started, or something? But nonetheless, Red stared the bottle of mustard down for a long moment, almost suspiciously, until Sans sat back down and gestured towards it. “Help yourself!” He said, and tentatively, Red reaches forward. He half expected someone to reach forward and swat his hand away, but was relieved to find that this was not the case when his phalanges curled around the bottle, bringing it to his chest almost as if he was afraid someone would take it from him. Papyrus and Sans watched him carefully, making him pretty uncomfortable, but he forced himself to ignore it as he popped the cap and took a single sip. The two Underswap brothers smiled before resuming eating their own meal.

It had been such a long time since Red had drank any mustard. He had a hard time savoring the spicy condiment, squeezing the bottle to get every last bit of it out before withdrawing with a gasp. He’d forgotten to breathe, and he hadn’t failed to notice the little snicker of amusement Sans let out from the other side of the coffee table. He just rolled his eyes as if uneffected before placing the now empty and semi-crushed bottle of mustard back down on the table. “...Thanks,” he said, and Sans nodded enthusiastically.

“I’ll clean up after I’m done I guess,” Sans looked like he was about to protest, but Papyrus shot him a look before nodding at Red. It was clear the other was used to some sort of labor, and he didn’t want to make the other uncomfortable by suddenly relieving him of all his duties. Red finished his meal and stood up, grabbing his plate and starting for the kitchen. However, Boss caught his attention while he was walking by. “You’re a fucking suck-up,” Boss accused, “you’re going to get attached, and then you’re going to snap and hurt someone, then you’re going to feel fucking awful about it, aren’t you?” Red just glared down at his confined brother before continuing towards the kitchen, putting his plate in the sink and starting to clean it.

Once Sans, too, got to the kitchen, he got to work on putting all of the extra toppings into containers, throwing away the now empty honey and mustard bottles, and setting out all of the cleaning soaps and tools for Red. He didn't really expect the other to know where everything went, and besides, every ounce of help counted, right? When done with this, he moved over to the stove, grabbing the frying pan he'd used to cook the meat and taking one side of the sink to start scrubbing at it.

Red stared at Sans confusedly for a few long moments. He hadn’t been expecting any amount of help at all, and he was quick to walk over, tapping the other lightly on the shoulder. “Hey, I can get that for you...don’t worry about it--just sit down, okay?” Sans had already been halfway done cleaning his pan since he was doing so with such great vigor, but when Red tapped on his shoulder, he turned only to beam. "Wow, that's so nice, Red! Thanks a bunch!" And he put the pan down with a loud clatter in the sink--something wince-inducing to all but him, it seemed--and dried his hands before tackling the other in a hug, wrapping his arms around his waist. But it was short-lived, because he seemed to realize that the other might not like it. When he pulled back, he flushed blue. "Wowie, sorry! But, again, thanks!" And then he bounced back out of the room to join the rest of the skeletons of the household. Red stared after him, eye sockets dark. **“D o n ‘ t t o u c h m e,”** he mumbled darkly at the other’s back, voice hollow, but it seemed that his alternate self had failed to take notice.

Red slowly looked away from the archway that led to the rest of the house, turning his attention back to the dishes and rolling up his jacket sleeves before beginning to scrub vigorously. He was used to a chore like this, after all--and so much more.

Meanwhile, Papyrus had kicked back from where he sat on the couch, reaching in his pocket and pulling out another cigarette, sticking it between in his teeth and lighting it. He took a long drag of the cigarette before releasing it in a sigh. Sans glared and Papyrus just shrugged before repeating for what must have been the millionth time, “the smoke literally goes right through me, bro. I don’t have organs to destroy.” Sans glared even harder, then; something that would be likened to murder if he could manage such a menacing expression, but said nothing more on the matter. Still, Papyrus knew that he would bring it up again the next time he was caught.

Papyrus cracked one eye open when there was a bounce on the couch, seeing that his brother had practically thrown himself onto the sofa. "Red is so great, isn't he?" Sans hummed, and Papyrus copied him, nodding shortly. "Much better than him," and he tilted his head towards Boss.

“He’s just as bad as me,” Boss insisted with a cruel smirk twisting his marred features. “He’s just trying to get on your good side, and then at the moment you least expect it, he’ll backstab you.” 

"I trust your word a helluva lot less than his, just thought you should know that," Papyrus told the other, before making his way to the kitchen. 

"My bro doesn't show it very well unless you really look, but he seemed a bit bothered. Thought I'd check on you." Papyrus said, leaning up against the counter, watching as Red scrubbed clean each of the dishes. He thought of offering to help, but then decided that he didn't feel up to it. But then he noticed something, when Red's arm slid up out of the mountain of soap just enough for it to meet his eye... 

In a flash of movement, Papyrus was at Red's side, grabbing at his wrist. It was a bad idea for him to make such an abrupt movement to grab someone when they surely were uncomfortable with any contact, but the sight had alarmed him. He twisted the other's wrist to face him slightly, scrutinizing the marks before his fears had been confirmed. "You've been chipping," he said, tone growing subdued. His grip was tight on the other's arm, not intending to let go until he wanted to. It wasn't really his business, Papyrus realized, but...he recalled earlier, when Red had told him he wished that Papyrus had just killed him. Red recoiled, jerking backwards as if Papyrus had burned him. Maybe the skeleton could have approached it better, but it was a serious thing. The shorter skeleton’s eye sockets were wide with fear, one darkening and the other briefly flashing red before he manages to stop himself from attacking; instead, both eyes fell dark now. “Leave me the fuck alone,” he growled, tugging against the grip, but Papyrus’ hold was firm. “I don’t need your help. I never needed any. Just back off.” He’d never gotten such careful attention from Boss, so why did an alternate version of him--practically a stranger--care so much more? It threw him for a complete loop. With a flash Papyrus had teleported, and then almost immediately he was back, carrying a wad of gauze that he'd gotten from the restroom upstairs. He unravelled it, and this time held out his hand, expression soft. "Hold out your arm." It was phrased as a question, maybe even a plea, rather than a command. 

Papyrus hated making somebody look so scared, hated seeing how much it reminded him of his own brother in the timelines where Frisk killed Sans. Seeing that look of almost betrayal as his body sunk to the ground in the snow, rapidly dusting. Soon leaving behind only a bright blue bandana and badly dented battle body... 

...which was why he didn't back down when Red demanded that he get away, even if it almost physically pained his soul. It felt like the other's own soul was reaching out, attacking his own positive energy with a force of negativity. Monsters in this timeline were made of love and compassionate magic, so to be hit with something so violent really shook him up. But he shook his head, hardening his resolve. 

"You need to learn how to accept help, Red," Papyrus insisted, tone soft. "Chipping...it's not okay. I know how much you're hurting." Papyrus hesitated for a moment, before placing the wad of gauze on the counter. He reached for the arms of his hoodie, pulling up the sleeve of his left arm and holding it out. They were shallow, and from timelines ago, but since it was in the bone it would never scar over. After a moment letting Red get a look at it, he tugged his sleeve back down. "If you are an alternate, you probably know about the RESETs to some extent. They're tied to that, and all of the pain I've gone through." He grit his teeth, before grabbing for the gauze again. "Please, hold out your hand."

“I don’t need your help,” Red insisted. “I know plenty about the RESETs, but don’t think that makes me care any more about your timelines. The RESETs are the reason why whenever Boss dies he doesn’t just stay dead.” His gaze lit up red and a flurry of bones flew towards Papyrus. However, they were not actually aiming for the skeleton, merely clipping his hoodie and lightly tearing the fabric. He wouldn’t admit it, but he truly didn’t want to hurt Papyrus. “I just want to go back to my timeline.” He was lying, and he knew it. But the kindness he was being showed almost hurt his soul as much as a beating would. He wasn’t used to it, and it made him feel sick.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Red," he insisted, grunting as his hoodie tears some, but overall disregarding it. It could be mended--this was his one chance to get through to the other skeleton. He might not have another one. "I'm really fucking sorry, honestly, for lashing out at you in the beginning. I'll never do it again, you have my word, okay? And I'll tell you right now--I really hate making promises." He meant every word.

"I don't have a mean bone on my body towards you anymore. You can sense Intent like every other Monster, can't you? Look through your fear, and hatred, and find that what I'm doing right now has absolutely _no_ underhanded intention." He took a step closer to Red, gauze still clutched, a bit more tightly, in his hands. "Please, Red. Just let me help you."

There is a long, deafening silence before suddenly Red shucks off his jacket, it falling with a dull ‘whump’ to the floor in a black heap. Papyrus let out a deep breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Red scoots so that he’s sitting on the counter, shakily holding out his two chipped radius’. “You can try to help all you want, but it won’t solve anything.” Red said in a last, feeble attempt to get Papyrus to just leave him alone. But it didn’t work.

Only when the other was situated on the counter did he step within arm's length. It meant a lot to him that Red was finally letting him help, and he was glad that he hadn't been reading him wrong and had kept trying, despite the danger that could have arose from it. Papyrus couldn't just go threatening himself, he knew; he only had one HP, after all. 

Leaning forward and unraveling the linen gauze, he starts gently but firmly wrapping it around the other's wrists with practiced ease. Once one was wrapped up, he ripped off the excess and moved onto the other, doing the same. He continued until the strip he'd gotten from the roll upstairs was gone, and hesitated for a moment before finally letting go of the other's arm, withdrawing somewhat. 

A part of Red that had been used to getting harmed when people got this close to him washed over him, and he’d leaned back somewhat when Papyrus got close. He expected death, and hoped it would be quick. But Papyrus’ grip was gentle--it seemed the skeleton was even trying to avoid touching him, for respect of his personal space, and Red couldn’t help but feel a bit touched. When Papyrus finished, he rubbed the gauze with his phalanges, looking up at the other to say something--but Papyrus was leaning in, what was he doing--

Papyrus had stood there a bit awkwardly for a moment, before holding up his hands in a disarming manner to indicate that he was empty-handed. He slowly leaned in, and much more gentle manner than Sans had enveloped the other in a (fairly awkward; this wasn't his forte) hug. It wasn't typically like him to behave like this towards others, to be so open with his emotions, but he could never relate to anyone like he could with Red before. The hug was brief but longer than Sans', and when he backed up he looked the other the best he could in the face, having to lean down to do so. 

"I don't know exactly what happened to you, and I won't pretend I do. But if you need anyone to talk to, I'm here for you, okay? I hope that by spending time here, you'll learn to open up." With that, he took a couple steps back, standing taller again and casting a glance towards the living room. "We should head back into the living room. I've got to get Sans to bed soon. He can't sleep without his bedtime story."

Red chuckled bitterly when Papyrus brought up the bedtime story; he’d used to read to Boss, before their relationship had gone downhill. When Papyrus motioned to leave, Red grabbed at the other’s sleeve. The taller skeleton turned to face him. “Uhh...thanks, I guess,” Red uttered, avoiding eye contact. “I’ll try. To get better, I mean.” The latter words felt empty, but he really did want to try. Even as he warred with himself, thinking that he was just setting himself up for soul-ache. Papyrus seemed pleased enough though.

Papyrus turned and left the kitchen after that, hands stuffed in his hoodie pockets and expression giving away nothing that had happened (though the tears in his hoodie might say a little something). They'd been quiet for the last few minutes after Red had lashed out, and if Sans were honest with himself, he'd been scared that Papyrus had been reduced to dust, or maybe even Red. But he trusted his brother that it wouldn't happen, and stood up from the couch with a sigh of relief when the orange-clad skeleton emerged, running over and hugging him, looking up with wide blue eyes. Papyrus reached down, patting him gently on the skull in reassurance. "Let's get you to bed, huh?" He said, and Sans beamed, nodding and running towards the stairs. Papyrus followed at his own leisurely pace. They were up there for about ten minutes, and when Papyrus reemerged, he was by himself. Quietly he walked back down the stairs, and reclaimed his usual spot on the sofa. He was pretty tired, to say the least, and was just about ready to turn in for sleep as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When my roleplaying partner and I brought up the whole Red attacking Papyrus thing, I pointed out how it reminded me of when you fight Toriel in Undertale, and how she deliberately avoids trying to actually hurt you after a few turns. :] There's some feels for you guys, ehe. More to come!


	5. Prelude to the Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red and Payrus spend a little time together, though of course it's not without Boss' usual unwelcome jibing.  
> Papyrus is a mother hen. Red is a conflicted, nervous wreck. Sans is overly chipper. Boss is just an asshole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for not updating, my friends! I've had school exams, and then eventually when those were over it just turned into me procrastinating. I told myself that I'd update this Sunday no matter what, but ended up falling asleep. So here I am at 3:07 Monday morning typing the update, since I woke up in the middle of the night after going to bed early. I don't break my promises. And so with that being said, here's your update, and I hope to see you guys soon! Please let me know what you think!  
>  **EDIT: I beta'd the chapter. Sorry if anyone saw this before I did that. I noticed that it was missing a huge chunk of the rest of the chapter due to some faulty copy/pasting on my part. Also! I finally figured out how to see _all_ of my statistics on this story, and I swear to God I nearly fainted! 46 subscriptions?! Wtf people? XD Almost 1,900 hits as well, and 132 Kudos! You guys rock! It means so much to me that you like this story so much!**
> 
> **EDIT 5/10/16: Made a small edit. It now describes Sans to be wearing a different outfit, since when I'd updated this I forgot about the fact that his battle body got wrecked. It wasn't written in the roleplay, but I'll work it in--he needs to get his outfit fixed. : >  
> Also, Sans gets his nickname eventually! Just not until way later on. So far in the roleplay Papyrus still doesn't have one however, so it's likely he never will.**

By the time Papyrus came back, Red had calmed down enough to show his face again. He’d taken most of the time to finish up with the dishes, but now he was sitting on the floor in front of Boss, just out of arm’s reach. Boss was just smirking knowingly, and Red was visibly tense. Boss had nearly scooted his way entirely out of the bones; it seemed that if you went slowly enough, they wouldn’t cause damage. The fact this left room for escape made Red impossibly nervous. He rounded the will to speak up. “Don’t try and escape,” he said, and Boss barked a laugh. “And why not?” He asked. “Seriously, bro. You’re going to get hurt.” Red persisted, but Boss just rose an incredulous brow-bone. “I’m going to get hurt? Fuck you. If anyone here gets hurt, it’ll be all of you pathetic swine. If you don’t want them to get hurt, you’ll let me out.” Red scoffed. “That’s some reverse psychology there, bro. I know you’ll hurt all of us if you get free.” Boss looked outraged, but Red knew it was the truth.

 

Papyrus had heard the two skeletons talking among themselves when he returned down the stairs, but he had not heard their exact words and it seemed the conversation was just about over by the time he reached the bottom step. A part of him whispered that the two of them might have been coming up with a strategy to get Boss free and kill everyone...but Papyrus vetoed the thought with the fact that Red would likely not willingly endanger himself to hurt someone that helped him. It was simply illogical...and he hoped he was right, as he took his spot on the couch and flipped on the TV. He might as well watch some of Napstabot’s movies, seeing as he had nothing better to do. He might fall asleep to them, as well. Today’s been a pretty long day. His gaze shifted over to Red, thinking for a moment before speaking up. “Hey Red, you wanna watch a Napstabot movie with me?” He asked, lightly patting the spot on the couch next to him.

Red had ended his conversation with carefully pressing his leg through the bars of bones, kicking Boss into the bones with a sneaker to the skull. He sneered before turning to face Papyrus, walking over but sitting with his back propped aganst the armrest rather than sitting on the couch beside Papyrus. He didn’t want to get used to comfort. He hated the fact Papyrus has been coddling him, but at the same time was worried that eventually he’d have to go back to his own timeline. He couldn’t get used to happiness when that happened--and so, he forced himself to hate the treatment.

Papyrus watched as Red sat down on the couch. “Do you have Napstabot in your timeline?” He asked, and the shorter skeleton grunted, shaking his head. “No, but we have a psychotic nutcase named Mettaton. Never seen Monsters suffer worse than when they do on his shows.” Mettaton was likely one of the more cruel of Monsters back in his timeline. Red shuddered at the memory of a particularly gruesome murder--”guest stars” rarely ever made it out alive. Especially since even if they escaped Mettaton, other Monsters would scent their blood from miles around and would do a free-EXP-and-mercy kill.

"Napstabot mostly writes music, but he does a show every now and again," Papyrus said. "Mettaton...what an interesting name." There was no Monster here with a name like that, as far as he knew. There were two other ghosts around, though--Hapstablook and Madstablook. Not that Papyrus knew this, of course. "Hopefully I'll never have to meet him." This was accompanied with a chuckle, and Papyrus slips onto the floor, though he props himself up against the opposite armrest to Red. He wanted to help ease the other into feeling like an equal, but at the same time didn’t want to smother him. There was likely some seriously bad culture shock going on.

It's not long before Papyrus' eyes are half-lidded, and then finally fall completely shut. Soon after that, his head is tucked into his chest, soft and even breaths coming from him. He'd fallen asleep there, just like that. Even if he did prefer more comfortable surfaces, it wasn't hard for Papyrus to fall asleep just about anywhere. In fact, he'd probably do it more if Sans didn't constantly scold him for it.

“Hopefully you’ll never have to go to my timeline,” Red said, unaware of the fact that Papyrus had dozed off. “You and your brother would die so fast…” He sighed. “The only reason I’m still alive is because Boss is head of the royal guard...I’m his toy, and he doesn’t want his precious toy broken.” He’d said the word ‘toy’ with a quiet malice, and a chuckle came from the other side of the room. “You’re a useless, pathetic waste of space. I’ll use you and use you until you’re dusted, without the mercy of crushing your soul. Everyone, including you, would be dead by now if you hadn’t betrayed me, you back-stabbing swine.” Red had recoiled at the words, but he knew: they were a promise. Boss couldn’t hurt him right now, but the stab of fear he felt could have taken his one HP if it could physically harm him. Boss knew the only way to kill Red was to deal damage to his soul.

If Papyrus had heard Boss' vulgar, cruel words claiming ownership over his older brother, he probably would have summoned a bone in the middle of the cage to impale him through the pelvis and ribs. He didn't tolerate that kind of shit in his home, and now that he knew a little bit more about Red, he would make sure that he didn't go through that so long as he was able. That being, when he was conscious and aware and able to actually do something about it. 

Red wanted to be as far away from his brother as possible, but knew better than to leave the other unattended. And so he stood up, walking over to Boss and sitting just out of arm’s reach from the other. He would escape if someone didn’t keep watch. He ended up staying there for the rest of the night, listening to Boss’ jibes and jeering; how he should go to sleep, how he couldn’t hope to do anything to help. He told Red that the skeleton was fighting a useless battle, and how everyone there would inevitably die in the end.

Papyrus doesn't stir for the rest of the night, and the following morning Sans is the first to rise, sunny and acting like he'd already had three cups of coffee. The rest had done well to raise his HP back to twenty, and he'd always been a morning person. He wore a change of clothes, as well. His battle body having been wrecked, and being the only one he had, forced the stout and peppy skeleton to wear something more loose. Namely, a white turtleneck with a blue hoodie jacket thrown over it. Though he decided to continue wearing the same yoga pants and cerulean boots. The combination looked somewhat funny. "Everyone, good morning!" He shouted, and Papyrus jolted, before slowly, languidly, his eyes fluttered open. A lazy smile appeared on his face. "Mornin' bro," he slurred, voice raspy with sleep as he arched his back, stretching. It popped, making both himself and his brother wince. Unlike for Humans, it was much more unhealthy for skeletons to pop their joints. Sans huffed, putting on his 'i'm about to scold you' face. "Brother! What did I say about sleeping in weird places?" He chided, gloved hands on his hips. "You know better!" A pause. "But don't worry! You'll just have to sleep somewhere better tonight! For now, I'll make some breakfast, and you'll be all better!" And with that, the bubbly skeleton again ran off towards the kitchen. The house is soon filled with the scent of eggs and bacon.

Despite it all, Red had managed to stay up throughout the entire night. He had dark circles under his sockets, accompanied by claw marks from where he’d clawed at his face to keep himself from falling asleep--a bad habit that he did quite often--but he’d made it. The sound of Sans’ voice was too much for him in the morning. How could Sans be any version of him? They were absolutely nothing alike!

While Sans got to preparing breakfast, Papyrus got up and walked over to the Underfell brothers, crouching down next to Red and in front of Boss. He glanced over at the alternate of his brother. "Did you stay up all night watching him?" He asked, but before he got a response, he sighed. It was obvious, and had been rhetorical. "So this isn't good enough, then. I'll have to find a better way to keep him confined." He stood, holding out a hand for Red to grab and stand up. "You can rest a bit, if you want. You must be exhausted." A pause. "And...thank you. If you had slept, we probably would have had a seriously bad time." Cue a warm smile. 

The smile shrunk some when he caught the means in which Red kept himself awake, but he decided to not point it out for now. Clawing at himself couldn't have felt nice, and now he felt a bit guilty. If he'd known, he could have offered to take shifts (even if he was pretty sure he'd end up falling asleep, but he liked to think that he wouldn't if the thought of his brother being put in danger kept him motivated). 

“I didn’t want to risk Boss getting out,” Red grumbled. Boss looked like he had a few choice words to throw at the skeleton, but he held his tongue. Papyrus was hovering, and he wasn’t stupid enough to hurt his bro--even if it was tempting--when he was being protected by likely the only person with enough nerve to kill him. “It’s fine,” Papyrus replied. “Thanks for keeping us safe. I would have helped, but…” He trailed off.

Red pulled his hood over his head to give himself a sense of security, accepting Papyrus’ offer to help him stand up. He stood on shaky legs at first, having been in the same position all night. He’d stumbled into Papyrus for a moment before getting ahold of himself, and Boss snickered tauntingly at him. Rather than head upstairs however, Papyrus directed him over to the coffee table when Sans came back out.

Soon Sans is back with one stack of empty plates held carefully in one hand, and a couple of plates with eggs, bacon and toast in another. Much like last night, he made it something self-serve, like a buffet, and sat all of the food as well as plates on the coffee table, beckoning the others over. He didn't make this very often, and he wanted to know what everyone thought!

Red thought that he could really use some mustard right now, but he’d guzzled down the condiment the previous night like an alcoholic with an extra large shot glass. It seemed that his alternate self was on some level reading his thoughts, though. "I'm going to the store today, so if anyone has any requests lemme know!" He said as he loaded his plate with eggs, bacon, and a piece of toast, slathered with jam. Papyrus himself grabbed a little bit of egg with a couple strips of bacon, but two slices of toast, buttered but jam absent. Papyrus didn't much care for eggs, but Sans really valued his protein. Likely because he did so much walking throughout the day.

"Probably gonna need some more honey," Papyrus hummed, "and I dunno if he'll bring it up, but Red will probably need some more mustard. He finished it off last night." Red seemed so insecure to bring his opinion to the (figurative) table--at least, that's what Papyrus had observed so far, and he figured he would be doing a favor to speak up for him. He cast a glance at the other skeleton, and smiled a little before getting to work on the contents of his plate. ‘Okay,’ Red thought, ‘so apparently they both can read my mind.’ He flushed somewhat--was he that easy to read? He hated to admit it, but Papyrus was right. Even if he did like mustard, if he hadn’t spoken up, it was likely that he wouldn’t have said anything.

Despite his grouchiness, a part of Red was grateful for the others’ kindness. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve it, but his sleepy self decided to focus more on staying awake than pondering why the other two skeletons were being so nice. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, after all. He was a bit nervous to go to sleep, though...he’d likely just wake up to a nightmare, and he didn’t want Papyrus crooning all over him like some over-affectionate mother hen (and yet, a part of him thought, he did).

Red stared at the food for a few moments, willing himself to grab the fork and take a bite. He was unused to having three mealtimes daily, and didn’t know if he had the stomach for it yet. His thoughts are interrupted by a start in conversation, and Red uses this as an excuse for himself not to eat. He thought to himself that his brother really shouldn’t be getting food, but then his thoughts whispered, ‘well, what makes you better than him? He’s right...you’ll never be good enough.’

Sans had been getting to eating his meal when he'd forgotten to serve up a plate for Boss. So he jumped up, filling a plate with roughly an equal amount of each food before walking over, sliding the plate into the other's space. "If you need more, just lemme know!" He beamed. "Sorry for not getting it to you sooner!" With that, he returned to his spot, digging into his own meal. Fortunately for all of those in the room that weren't morning Monsters, this kept the peppy skeleton mostly muted throughout the meal. 

Papyrus cleared his plate pretty quick; well, slowly, but faster than usual. But not enough to catch his brother's attention. He waited patiently for Red to finish before he stood up again, and like earlier while he was just waking up, holding out his hand for the other to get some help standing up. "You can sleep in my room if you like." He offered. The place was a mess, but it was quiet and nobody ever went in there. He told the other skeleton such. He thought about offering the couch as well, but then decided against it. Red would surely refuse to accept his bed then, and stubbornly sleep on the lumpy couch, where his brother could continue tormenting him. “Okay,” Red said after a moment’s pause, suddenly nervous. Sweat built at the side of his skull, trailing down the bone. He wasn’t used to the kind gesture, and wanted to protest it, but he really, really didn’t want to be in the same room as his brother for the whole day.

"I have to go to work, and so does Sans, so it should be pretty quiet for awhile." A moment's pause and his eye flickers; seconds later, several rows of bones, tight knit, emerge from the ground to make it practically impossible to escape. Some were blue, some orange, and some white, all knitted together in a total of four rows surrounding the space in which Boss was confined. As if Papyrus' words had electrocuted him, Sans suddenly jumped up. "Golly, I almost completely forgot about work!" He said. "I feel totally better today, so it's back on patrol for me!" He'd never ended up getting that soup from all the confusion, but it seemed that said confusion had knocked the illness right out of him!

Suddenly, Red’s appetite came back to him. He wolfed down his food, scarfing it until there was hardly a thing left on his plate. If he was going to be home alone, and Boss was going to escape, at least he’d die on a full stomach. He felt just a bit ill afterwards, but he felt a buzz of warmth in him and the delicious taste lingered in his mouth, so he didn’t really regret his actions. His chances of dying were greatly lessened since Papyrus had thickened the line of defense, but he knew his brother more than anyone. Nothing was impossible with him when it came to violence and causing Monsters immense pain.

Papyrus was glad to find that Red was agreeing to his offer without a fight. It made things easier. And so he jerked his head in the direction of the stairs, before he teleported to the top. Stairs were too much work right now, and he didn't feel like climbing them if he didn't have to. Red however had grunted in annoyance--his magic stock was still too low to waste it on something like that, and so he trudged up the stairs manually. Papyrus waited for Red to join him before walking to the right, to his bedroom. Digging around in his pocket, he produces a key and slips it into the door's lock. Twisting it to the left, a soft _click!_ indicates it being unlocked. He withdraws the key, pocketing it again before opening the door. 

The room was nothing less than a tornado, though it was to Papyrus an organized tornado, if him stepping almost expertly over each obstacle meant anything. Most of the mess was shoved into the corners, such as a pile of papers--scrapped notes--almost neatly piled up against the wall. In the other corner, a pile of socks that he left there more for amusement than laziness, though he wouldn't admit it. Otherwise there were a few miscellaneous objects littered about, though they didn't cause much trouble. 

Red had to stifle a snicker at the state of Papyrus’ room. It was an utter disaster, and if Boss let him, it would probably be like this as well. Instead, he was required to keep it spic and span. Or else he would face…’dire consequences’. He tried to not let that ruin the mood, though. Papyrus was being impossibly courteous, and he needed to appreciate it.

Papyrus made it to his bed, and for the first time felt a bit bashful at how utterly unkempt it was. He grabbed the pillow off of the floor, placing it on the bed but on the side that hadn't been making contact with the carpet. He uncrumpled the sheets and grabbed the corners, evening it out with a loud _fhwump!_ It settled messily onto the mattress like a piece of paper, and he evened it out some before stepping back, gesturing almost sheepishly towards it. "If you want some extra blankets, I'm sure there'll be some in the closet," he said. "I've only ever needed sheets, so." Red didn’t think that Papyrus needed to make the bed for him, but again didn’t want to seem unappreciative. A part of him thought that he should say something rude to assert himself, to show Papyrus that he wasn’t weak, but what was the point? He was weak. His brother was the strong one, that would dust anybody that showed him genuine kindness (not that this happened in his timeline anymore; it was always with underhanded intention), not him. And so with this thought in mind he clambered into the bed, curling up under the covers. Holy shit, this felt amazing. He blinked up at Papyrus, suddenly ten tmes more exhausted. “This is perfect, thank you,” he said, expression twitching as a series of emotions flickered across his face before disappearing just as quickly. Papyrus kind of viewed Red as a big ice sculpture, numb to the world around him. But as he spent more time in this timeline, he would thaw out, and become more aware of his emotions. It would suck to all Hell at first, undoubtedly, as Red would have to learn to cope with all of the things that had happened to him and the trauma that had certainly come with it. But after that, it would only go uphill. Papyrus would just have to convince Red to stay in this timeline, were they to find a way home in the first place... "Don't mention it," Papyrus said. Out of habit, he threw the sheets over Red once he'd lay down, tucking the other skeleton in. It came from years of doing the same to Sans, ever since he had gotten his little brother. "Habit," he mumbled once he realized that he'd kind of babied the other, even though he wasn't the same Sans and would have probably preferred to do it himself. At least he hadn't given him a skelekiss on the forehead like he did his Sans--that would probably be too much for both of them, especially with how sensitive Red was to physical contact. "Get some rest, Red. I'll be back off and on throughout the day, 'cause I have three jobs. Don't tell Sans that I tend to take lots of breaks, yeah?" He smiled with a wink, heading towards the door. When he grabbed the doorknob, he glanced once over his shoulder, looking as if he was going to say something more, before deciding against it and leaving the room, closing the door with a soft _click!_ that, to Red, seemed to hold an air of finality to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the last paragraph is seriously bulky. It's broken into pieces on the editing screen, but won't fix itself on the final product. :>


	6. Arrived at Destination: Pain Central

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or in which Red and Papyrus have a heart-to-heart: part two.  
> Also, shit hits the fan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this hurts, everyone.  
> Also! Almost 8,000 words this chapter! Happy Friday, ya dirty sinners.  
>  **EDIT 5/13/16: Added an illustration done by my roleplaying partner! Also beta read the chapter! Would have done it sooner, but had some errands to run. There is one error that I can't seem to find though? If anyone finds the stray "/was/" in the chapter, could you point out where it is? I saw it earlier but I was without bars and I lost it.**  
>  **EDIT 5/29/16: Thank you to MisoMiz for finding the error I listed above! It has been fixed!**

When Papyrus closed the door to his bedroom and left Red to his thoughts, despite the comfort he does not fall asleep immediately. When he does, it’s induced by stress setting off his narcolepsy. His eyelids flutter as an uncontrollable wave of exhaustion washed over him, before falling shut.

Meanwhile, Papyrus is heading back downstairs when he finds that Boss had been reaching for a strip of bacon that was out of reach with his tongue. He sputters a laugh at the unlikely scene, and Boss jerks back with a red flush of embarrassment blooming on his perpetually angered expression. On the way down Papyrus bumps into the banister, which has fallen down again. Sans had already left the house, and had likely knocked it over in his rush. He made a mental note to fix it...but then discarded it. It didn’t really matter, and the thing ever functioning like new was more wishful thinking. So long as nobody got injured.

Papyrus turned his attention away from the fallen banister and now that he was void of a distraction didn't even try to stifle another snicker at seeing his alternate self so pathetically attempting to get some food. Teleporting to the kitchen he grabbed a fork, seeing how Sans hadn't given him any utensils (he wasn't a complete ass after all, and he had told himself he wouldn't sink to his level, even if watching Boss eat with his hands would be very satisfying). 

Walking back into the room, he grabbed a strip of bacon and evenly balanced it on the other's tongue. Using his magic, he levitated the fork through the small forest of bones and dropped it unceremoniously onto the other's skull, it clinking unpleasantly before landing in Boss' lap. "You don't deserve my hospitality," he grumbled. "I'd kill you right now, you know, if I didn't know that Sans would be really upset. You should be more grateful for the fact that he cares about 'fixing' you so much. So far, I don't have much faith." He scoffed. "You're a real low piece of shit, you know? You really fucked up your bro--I can tell just from watching him, he's broken. Might think an annoying cat is higher than he is." He shuddered with suppressed rage. "Out of the both of you, he deserves fixing a helluva lot more than you do."

Papyrus wasn’t typically the type to down-talk someone else, but nobody had ever really gotten under his skin (heh) like his alternate self had.

What Boss says next makes Papyrus feel just in his words, however. In fact, it makes him want to say more. But he holds his tongue, taking to gritting his teeth instead. “He deserves everything he gets,” Edge snapped, and Papyrus is disgusted when he finds no hesitation underlying the words. “If I didn’t make him obedient, he would have died. Would have gotten us both killed.” Instead, Papyrus took notice of the disgust in the other’s tone.

“If someone is weak, you make them stronger by force. Except Sans is absolutely hopeless in his training, and because of that deserves every crack that marrs his bones. You can’t tell me otherwise. Likewise, you and your brother are completely disgusting, weak sacks of shit. For how weak your Sans is, he should be rotting in the deepest depths of Hell.” Papyrus lifted his hand as if to strike, but Edge didn’t flinch, glaring defiantly up at his more lax counterpart. Slowly, his hand lowered until it fell back to his side. Papyrus’ eyes had narrowed dangerously, the right flickering with orange magic. But it was quick to flicker away, and when he speaks, it’s with no emotion.

"You keep telling yourself that," Papyrus replied dully, before tugging up the hoodie over his skull. "I'm going to work. Don't even try to escape." There was an underlying fear that Boss would have the HP to do so, but he didn't allow himself to show it as he started towards the front door. Once opened, he got a little facefull of snow, and he snorts. A bit breezy today. He cast Boss one last glance, before leaving the other skeleton alone to sit for the day, or at least until he got back later for one of his breaks or waiting periods between jobs. 

Papyrus, upon stepping outside, decided to teleport to the sentry station next to the Ruins. He sat behind it, head in his palm. He considered going there and talking to the man on the other side about just whatever, as usual, but then realized he didn't really feel up to it. Things were a bit too hectic for him to just take it slow and relaxing, which was really strange because that was what the skeleton was more used to. 

Sighing, Papyrus fought sleep. He'd gotten plenty of rest the night before--unlike Red; he still felt pretty bad about that--and he knew that Sans passed through here, and would give him a good earful (without the ears) if he didn't do his job right. And so he sat, even though he knew another kid would likely never pass through that door. 

While Papyrus and Blue were out of the house and at work, Red’s dreams had quickly taken a turn for the worse. A series of memories all coming together to remind Red of the bad times in the other universe.

_It had been a rough childhood for Red. He had been forced to raise Boss alone by the age of eleven, and his little brother eight. Money was hard to come by, especially in such a cruel place on top of his age. There were often times where he could not put food on the table--table being a relative term, as they did not have a table or a house--unless he either sold his body to another Monster or stole food from stands when other Monsters weren’t looking. Often he would get caught, but would get away thanks to his teleportation powers._

_But there were many side-effects to Red’s malnourishment. He often went a long time without eating for the sake of making sure his little brother grew up big and strong. Indeed, by the age of ten, Boss had already met his height, and by fourteen he was almost a foot taller. He finally stopped growing at fifteen, leaving Red in the dust at five-foot two versus six-foot two. He remembered one time he’d been swiping food, just a little meager piece of bread, and a Monster at least four times his size had come to chase him._

_He’d almost died that day, dodging with all of his ability. But years of malnourishment had been catching up with him. His magic levels were desperately low, likely permanently so, and being so hungry his reaction time was not at it’s best. Fortunately the Monster didn’t know the only way to kill him was to hit his soul, but that hadn’t made it any less painful._

_Red had been forced to take blow after blow, when suddenly his brother had appeared. Months of training him to channel his magic had paid off, and his younger but much taller brother was quick to make dust of the Monster. But when Red had gotten up to thank him, he’d been kicked back into the snow by Boss, and scolded for his weakness. That had been the start of the abuse. ‘Why didn’t you fight, Sans?! You didn’t hit back at all!’ After that Boss had gone on to demand that he no longer be addressed as brother, but as ‘Boss’, and when he tried to get up to plead his brother’s mercy, had been kicked back in the snow. He’d never run faster from the other in his life. That had hurt way worse than the other Monster could have ever possibly hurt him._

Red woke up with a sharp intake of breath, and a scream caught in his throat. He’d taught himself not to do the latter, lest he get punished by his...no, his Boss. Sweat bead at his brow and the side of his head, streaking down his face with his tears, all dripping into his lap. He glanced frantically around the room, arms tucked tightly to his chest as if covering his soul from harm. He didn’t recognize the space at first, and quickly entered hyperventilation mode. He begun to shiver, falling from the bed and tucking himself into the corner as his left eye flared with magic that he didn’t have enough to exert.

Papyrus, after sitting at the sentry station for some time (some time not being very long, though), realized that he’d forgotten his cigarettes at home. He’d realized this when he reached into his pocket to grab one and had only grabbed at an empty box. Making his way home, a little tune playing in his head, he’s relieved to come home to find that Boss was still trapped in his cage of bones. The fact he’d seemed to shift somewhat unnerved him, but he didn’t allow it to show as he climbed the stairs, wanting to avoid his counterpart’s jibing.

Papyrus quietly opened the door to his bedroom, not wanting to awaken Red. But when he walks in, he realizes that this would not be much of an issue. When he looked up, the sight of Red laying curled up in the corner of his room took him completely off guard.

Red hadn’t moved from his spot in the corner in the time that Papyrus had been absent. His eyes were still wide in horror, hands clutched at each side of his head and legs curled to his chest as he rocked in place, reliving the past. He looked up at the door when it opened, that expression falling to rest on Papyrus, but not registering that it was a different version of the skeleton that he’d tried so hard to raise. 

A broken sob tumbled from the shorter skeleton’s lips as he cowered, pressing himself further into the corner. All he saw was his brother standing there, and he didn’t think that he could take the reprimanding that would surely come with Boss seeing him in such a weakened state. _Pitiful_ , his mind whispered, _can’t even keep your emotions in check. You're weak. You’re pitiful, pathetic, and are lower than the scum under a Monster’s shoes_. He only curled deeper at the words, phalanges digging into his skull so hard it threatened to crack under the pressure. As if he was trying to block out the voices from his own mind, to no avail.

"Hey, Red...it's okay, it's me." He said, tone soft and low, as he slowly reached towards the other. "It's okay, everything's fine now alright? I'm not going to hurt you, and I won't let your brother hurt you, either." He knew how violent these attacks could get--he had them, too. On more than one instance he'd woken up to an array of bones protruding from the wall, and his brother in tears at his side, begging him to wake up and calm down. Papyrus carefully scooted just a bit closer. Soon, he'd be able to wrap the other in one of his warm hugs. For being a skeleton, Papyrus was seriously huggable. "Shh..." He shushed, and finally wrapped the other in a gentle but firm hug. He was a bit uncomfortable by reaching over the other's lap, but he could ignore that for now.

Red recoiled at the feeling of arms wrapping around him. He hated being touched, and thrashed in the other’s grip, eyes wide and magic intensifying. He shoved the other away by the soul, Papyrus grunting as he felt the magic and it’s intensity. Red stood quickly and shakily, shaking his head and still clutching at it. “Don’t--don’t fucking touch me, I don’t--no--” He rambled incoherently, still rocking himself. His eye sockets were dazed and clouded over, and Papyrus knew that he was truly caught in another moment, and not really there, standing with him.

“Don’t come near me!” Red shouted, even though Papyrus was at least five feet away. He fell into another series of unintelligible ramblings before suddenly sobbing, “I didn’t mean to kill them! I-I didn’t want to! He...he made me…!” It seemed that Red was sobering some, as he registered Papyrus’ orange hoodie and reminded himself that his Papyrus would never dress like that. He didn’t want to hurt anyone anymore, especially someone that actually showed him kindness. So he would hurt. “Get _out_.” He hissed, though his words wavered. Bones briefly flickered into existence, hovering and threatening. He collapsed to his knees again, magic spiraling out of control as he broke into another fit of tears. How could he tell himself he didn’t want to hurt someone and then threaten them? Was he really that fucked up? He didn’t watch as his bones shot forward, messy and with no pattern.

Sans hugging him in the midst of an attack had always worked, but in a way this was different. He looked like the Monster that had done this to Red, and he must have had the opposite effect than what he had been aiming for. Unfortunately, he doesn't draw this conclusion fast enough, because suddenly the other skeleton is lashing out, and he can't dodge in time-- 

Papyrus cries out as he's struck with one of the bones, it knocking him in the ribs enough to take one HP and send him back several feet. But it's by sheer willpower that it only drops to half a HP; 0.50. He begun bleeding DETERMINATION, it staining his hoodie, but still he lingered in the room. Red's voice was dangerous, voice threatening to do more. But still, he refused, even if he didn't get close again. If he couldn't snap Red out of it, he would just have to play along. 

Papyrus assumed a more gruff tone. It felt wrong to him, but it was his last resort. Weakly, as he was on the brink of death, he spoke. "Sans, I'm sorry," he said in the best imitation of Red's Papyrus' voice he could muster. "All those things I did to you--all those things I said--I know I can't take them back, but I'm sorry." Was this something that could be considered cruel, if it was likely Red's brother would never himself utter these words? Papyrus sighed under his breath--he would deal with the consequences later. "Please, brother. Just calm down."

 

The tone had obviously hit home with Red, because he jolted before curling into himself more, seeming to come back to himself. The magic tainting the air almost tangibly fizzled and faded out, leaving behind only the scent of ozone. His eyes are a void for a long moment before slowly his pupils returned. It had helped sober him up, but the words had hurt, because for just a split second he had believed them to be real. But they hadn’t been more than an imitation. At first it had saddened him, but then it made him angry. “Go and patch up,” he hissed, tears still spilling down his face as he was now wracked with grief. He’d really messed up, hurting Papyrus. “You should have fucking moved, why didn’t you move?! Go patch yourself up, Goddammit. I don’t know how.” He shuddered, saying more quietly, “God fucking dammit...I hurt you, how could I, I’m no better than he is…” The words were said with such self-loathing, it made Papyrus’ soul throb with sympathy.

He probably wouldn't be going to his other two jobs today, Papyrus thought somewhat irrelevantly. Oh well. Things were a bit too upside-down for him to feel up to it anyways. Surely Sans would understand, since he was being subjected to all of this crazy bullshit too? Then again, he was trucking through it... 

Not important right now. 

"It's just half a HP man. Shouldn't take much healing magic." He said as the DETERMINATION spread through his hoodie more. Raising a hand to his chest, he pressed it to his sternum, and his hand lit up with a faint orange glow. After about thirty seconds, the weak healing magic had done it's work, and the DETERMINATION stopped spreading. Healing magic wasn’t really his specialty, and was thus really weak and took a long time to work, but he had so little HP that it didn’t matter too much.

Damn, he hoped he could get this out. It was his favorite hoodie...again, not important right now. "Now with that done...you're way, way better than he is, Red. Don't be so hard on yourself." He scooted a bit closer, but only a couple of inches, before stopping himself. "I'm not mad or anything. You were freaking out--I've done it before. I couldn't just leave you like that, either. You reminded me of..." He stopped himself, again being reminded of the doomed timelines, of the many times he was forced to witness his brother's murder, the petrified disappointment in his fading gaze…

"you reminded me of my brother." He finally finished. "I couldn't just walk away and pretend there was nothing wrong. Another universe or not, it's my job to care for you, since it seems like your own Papyrus won't." He attempted to look Red in the eye, this time asking permission. "...Are you comfortable enough now for me to get closer?" He didn't want to set Red off again; that was the last thing either of them needed.

Red growled. “But you’re not my Papyrus. It’s not your job.” His phalanges curled into themselves, growing sore with how deep he was digging into his palms. “I hurt you, and I’m a piece of fucking shit for it. Why do you care for me so much. I don’t want to get attached, it’ll just hurt more when I inevitably go back to my timeline.” He growled again as he got to the next topic of conversation. “And no, I don’t want one of your hugs. Please.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “I know I’m a pathetic piece of shit, don’t remind me. I’m weak, I get it. But I don’t need your pity.” He wanted to say that Papyrus had to be weaker either way, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. “Just leave me to rot. This is too much for me right now. I want to go back to my timeline. I can’t deal with this shit.”

“You seem to be in a state of indecision," Papyrus observed, shifting in place to get more comfortable where he sat. He was okay with Red not wanting him to get any closer--he'd given the other more hugs in the last day than he had given anyone in years. "You want to go back to your timeline for normalcy's sake, but at the same time...you dread it, don't you? You want to like this place, want to allow yourself to believe that everything's alright now. And...it is. You just have to let us in." His gaze flicked back and forth, observing the other skeleton for a reaction. 

"It's a bit late for me though, I think," he admitted, a bit more quietly than the other things he'd said so far. As if he was shy to admit it. "I mean, I could go without your brother plaguing the mood in the house? But I've never really been that compassionate before, and suddenly I really want to help you. You deserve it." He wasn't outright saying it, but Papyrus was basically admitting that he'd already gotten attached to the other skeleton. 

"You...don't have to leave, you know. If you don't truly want to. I don't think the time-space continuum would force you away just out of the blue. I'm assuming that something you did triggered it and took you here, right?" He thought of the weird feelings he'd gotten whenever he teleported, and then figured that it might have something to do with that. "You'd be happy here, you won't have to fight anymore, and..." He shrugged, chuckling. "Sans and I will make sure to appreciate you, and make this feel like a place you can be comfortable." Damn, he was being a serious sap right now, but Papyrus thought that it might be necessary.

“I don’t understand why you’re being so nice to me,” Red said, his voice straightening out some more as he’s forced to think about his words. Even so, however, it felt like he was still on automatic, just saying whatever thing he felt the need to say in order to try and just tell Papyrus ‘no, go away, I’m not worth it’. But it wasn’t working, and he didn’t know whether to feel relieved or annoyed. “I don’t have any redeeming qualities whatsoever. I’m not good at anything other than sleeping and creating drama. Even managing to come here was a complete accident. I wanted to get away from my brother before he beat me, and I ended up taking him to this backwards timeline instead.” He said it like it was a bad sort of backwards, but a part of him thought no, it was a good kind of backwards.

"Let's just not talk about your brother for now. He only darkens the mood," Papyrus said finally. "If he hasn't apologized, then I'll say sorry for him. Whether I like it or not, I am another version of him, and I'm so, so fucking sorry that he did whatever it is he did to you. Temporal shenanigans aside, I'm still your brother, in a way." Man, when had he gotten all "wise old goat"? This was the most...philosophical? Was that the word? He'd ever remembered being. But then again, wisdom was something necessary for a situation like this, and it so turns out he has a lot of it, since he was technically much older than he showed. He'd lived and relived so many timelines, he might as well be in his sixties, even if he was always reverted to the same age and was only about twenty-five.

"You don't have to have redeeming qualities to deserve kindness," Papyrus told Red. "Nobody deserves what you're getting, no matter what. They could have LOVE of twenty and still not deserve it." When Frisk had been possessing Chara, he had always made their death quick--never drew it out, never tortured them. Even then, he hadn't wanted to kill them, not really--anyone acts different under intense grief, and in those timelines, hardly anything mattered when everyone you knew and then some were gone with the wind, reduced to dust. "I haven't known you very long, so I don't know much, but everyone is good at something. You either already know this and are letting your negativity tell you otherwise, or you just haven't had the opportunity to find it yet." In this moment, Papyrus wished he knew Red better. Then at least he could do a better, less lame job at trying to reassure. "We can explore that, sometime...if you want."

“My brother was going to kill you, and I was going to let him, and yet all you can prattle on about is how I deserve kindness. No matter how kind you are, I will never accept your apology for his actions. Throughout the timelines he has killed or hurt me in every way you can possibly think of and more. The best fucking part? I can’t heal shit! I don’t take damage unless it’s done directly to my soul. Healing magic doesn’t work on wounds that you don’t take damage for. Believe me, I tried while chipping. I don’t have the guts to finish myself off the way I know.” 

Papyrus noticed the unintentional joke the other let slip, but he wasn’t laughing. Papyrus already knew about the healing magic’s flaw, but the fact that Red couldn’t be hurt unless struck on the soul was interesting. A useful defense mechanism, in fact, if not torturously painful. Especially coming from the timeline that he did. Red’s voice had risen in hysteria at his words. “The only thing I’m useful for is being a punching bag. Because I can’t fucking die unless someone gets the wise idea to hit me where it hurts the most.” He scoffed, heaving a deep sigh and calming down somewhat, though he still appeared distraught. “I’m spilling all of my insides to you when you don’t even care. Why bother.”

Papyrus listened intently as the other prattled on and on about various things pertaining to the conversation at hand. He was a bit upset when Red told him that his apology in place of Boss' wasn't being accepted at all, but told himself that it must mean something. With this thought, he was content, and put his worries there to rest. At least he'd tried, and he could be happy with knowing that he'd done that rather than just scrap the effort entirely. 

Papyrus wished that he could get Red to believe that he had never been more attentive in his life. He didn't not care about what he was saying--it helped him get a better grip on the situation, on how to help, and to get an idea on how the other saw things in life. Hah, who would have thought he'd end up playing therapist? Definitely not him. 

"Yeah, I know what you mean. When Sans first saw the chip marks...he flipped his shit. It wouldn't have been so bad if my healing magic had worked on it." Maybe it would if he was actually good at healing, but he only knew one spell and it was a very weak, novice one. He figured Red was in the same boat regarding the healing branch of magic. "But the thing is, you didn't." Papyrus pointed out. "You say you planned to attack, but you didn't, right? You're sitting here right now, free and not trapped in a bone cage. You sat watch last night to make sure we wouldn’t get hurt, for fuck's sake." Sans would so kill him if he learned that Papyrus was starting to get a foul mouth again. It had been so long, and honestly, the words made things just a bit more bearable. 

"You're a good guy, Red. You can deny it all you want, point out the fact you have some sins crawling...don't think I didn't notice your LV. But it doesn't matter, if you're willing to change. That's the first step, both towards redemption, and recovery from this sick outlook on life you have."

There he went being all wise again, and Papyrus was almost disgusted with it. However, it seemed to make Red relax some, as his expression softened just the tiniest bit. He was, however, quick to hone in on one particular thing that Papyrus said, expression darkening. “I didn’t want to kill anyone,” he told the other. “P--Boss forced me to kill them. But do you really think I just kept awake to help you? I’m selfish. Half the reason I stayed awake was with my own safety in mind. Those bones won’t do shit to keep him contained unless he wants them to. He’s planning something, I just know it.”

"You said so yourself, though. It was half of the reason, not the only reason. You had us in mind at some point, and that's better than not at all." He turned Red's words on him. Maybe it wasn't the best method of getting through to someone, but damn it all if Papyrus wasn't trying. Papyrus didn't think he could get more sick of his other self right then, but Red proved him wrong when he told the orange-clad skeleton that he'd been forced to murder Monsters. It was one thing to murder others themselves, but to force another...he grit his teeth. That means that Red shouldn't have any LV at all--that was Boss' doing, not his. But at the same time...if he'd been any stronger when they first met, would they be sitting here right now, talking? Or would he be in the void, waiting for a RESET that would never come while Boss wipes out the whole of the Underground's soft population? 

"I don't expect you to not be scared of him." He replied. "Honestly? I'm actually pretty scared of him, too. He did kick my ass, after all. And nearly killed Sans..." He paused. "Allow me to reiterate, though." He took a breath, though he technically didn't need to breathe? "You may have been dealt a bad hand in the first round. But you can fold and get a new deck, here in this timeline. Who knows, maybe you'll find a few aces. But you have to give us a chance, and be willing to let us help you. Because if you do, just know that we won't give up on you. You won't have to worry about us ever hating you, or even disliking you. Sans doesn't have a mean bone on his body. The only mean bones I have are towards anyone that threatens him."

“But I don’t trust myself to not threaten him,” said Red, and Papyrus thought that he sounded so, so tired right then. Red wiped away the tear tracks that streaked down his face, as his crying had finally come to a stop. “I don’t have any grudges against him, you know? But he’s just so, so happy. It’s disgusting, and I guess I’m jealous? I got dealt the shit hand, and he has nothing to make him unhappy in life. Why couldn’t I get that? Why couldn’t Papyrus get that?” He halted with a jolt, looking around as if to make sure that his brother hadn’t heard his slip-up. “You shouldn’t be even giving me the time of day. It would be so much easier if you’d just dust me.”

"I see how it would stress you out to see him so chipper," Papyrus said, "and how this place can make you upset, too. I agree, nobody should have to be in the timeline you're from. But you don't have to be jealous, because you're here now." He paused. "And...even if he does annoy you, I think I can trust you. To not hurt him, I mean." Could he really trust Red to not hurt his brother, after he'd been attacked himself, nearly dusted in one blow?...he reminded himself that Red was not aware of his surroundings at the time, and it made it a lot easier for himself to think that yes, he could. Red had done nothing yet to truly make him think anything otherwise. 

"Just give Sans some time. He's immature, but I wouldn't underestimate him. I remember one timeline...where Chara was possessed by Frisk, and even though their LV was already at ten by the time their encounter rolled around...he managed to get the kid to drop the knife and tackle him in a hug. They broke down into tears, and it was the most tooth-rotting thing you'd ever see, I'll tell you right now." He chuckled. "Of course, he didn't get this chance in every timeline...but...just give him time. If you think I need to up the defense to make sure your brother doesn't escape, just let me know and I'll be more than happy to oblige."

Papyrus notices that they’d unwittingly drifted back onto the topic of Boss when Red next seems to deliberately avoid talking about him.

“Your kid is a lot like ours,” he said, “the familiarity there is nice...but they almost always got killed before exiting the Ruins. I don’t know how or by who, but when they do come out it’s to some serious burns, and they’ve only made it past Snowdin once or twice without getting ripped to shreds by the Royal Guard sentries.” He, too, had killed the child a couple of times, but it had been mostly out of paranoia. Looking back on it, he regretted it quite a lot. Those were quite possibly the only times he’d ever intentionally killed another without being forced by his brother. “I’ve killed the kid myself. Willingly. You shouldn’t trust me. I attacked you just now, even. It’s amazing that it didn’t dust you, because my LV is six and I definitely deal more than one HP.” It was another feeble attempt at pushing Papyrus away, but it, to his surprise not at all, did not stop Papyrus from pressing on.

"I'll just have to tell Sans to be more careful," Papyrus hummed. "He's overenthusiastic, but he's not out of his own control, and I'm sure you've seen at least once that he knows when enough's enough, and that he's overstepped a boundary." Papyrus had lived beside his brother for years upon years--the two of them knew each other more than anyone else...hell, Papyrus would say that they knew each other better than they knew themselves, but Sans not knowing the full extent of the RESETs…

"I wasn't dusted because I refused to let you," Papyrus said. "It hurt. A lot. You can see what it did to me. But even with my one meager HP, you can see how much I want to help you, right?" He wished Red would take his word, and just stop fighting it. But that was wishful thinking, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to get through to the other skeleton right away. "I've always been dusted when the kid hit me just once...or whenever an accident happened in one of the timelines. Never before have I seen my HP split in half. It's got to mean something, and I'll be damned if I don't show just as much Determination to save you as my brother does towards your Papyrus." 

"Sans should be getting off work soon, and I'm sure he'll be at it again." Papyrus said after a brief silence. "Your brother has a very high LV...so he'll have a much harder time than I'll have with you. But...I'm confident he can handle it."

Red decided to let the topic of Sans drop, but still tried one more time to figure out Papyrus. He had to have some sort of motive other than just ‘helping’. “But why do you want to help me so much? I don’t understand how you’d want to do so so much that your health would break in half. I didn’t even know that was possible.” Like Hell he’d ever have that much Hope and Determination to stay alive. Papyrus himself didn’t look like too happy a skeleton--where did he get that motivation from? “I don’t even know how you’re going to help me. You’re looking at trying to undo years of daily agony. I’m twenty-five years old and this shit has been going since I was eleven. That’s fourteen years of torture.”

"I'm determined to help you because you deserve nothing less. And don't give me that bullcrap thinking that you don't. That's just your negative outlook speaking, okay?" He'd interrupted the other before he'd ever get a potential chance to open his mouth. "You need help, whether you want to admit it or not. As for my HP...I don't really know about it either, but I don't care either. Because I haven't dusted, and that means I can keep helping you." He briefly recalled one timeline when he'd been around to see Alphys dusted by Frisk, only for her resist death before killing the child out of their surprise. But that had to be different...Papyrus hadn't been fading to dust when his HP split. 

"I'm going to help you by just being there for you. Sometimes, that's all someone needs, is reassurance that someone cares for you and how you feel. I was serious when I said feel free to talk to me if you need to. Sans told me once," he raised the pitch of his voice, attempting to make it humorous to lighten the mood some, "Pappy, you're such a lazybones!...but you're a good listener." He smiled at the memory.

Red couldn’t help but crack a smile at the high pitched voice the other assumed. It didn’t fit him at all, having such a deep voice, but it had been a cute impression despite not sounding like Sans at all. “It feels weird talking about my problems, though. That’s the thing. How can you even handle me rambling about useless shit like this anyways? I’d think it would just piss you off even more.”

"Even more? I've not been pissed at you in the first place," Papyrus replied. He wondered briefly if anything he'd done had given the other the idea, and thought back to when he'd held Red hostage, back at the beginning. Hadn't he already assured him about that? "Look, if it's about the fight in the beginning...I'm over it. You didn't do anything to harm my brother; you were innocent, and I was an ass to have even entertained the thought of using you against your brother." He sighed, rubbing at his temple with his fingers. It made an odd clanking sound, but he felt a bit better. 

"You don't have to be worried about sharing your thoughts. Actually, I encourage it. You'll feel so much better afterwards." Had Red never been told this by anyone? Papyrus decided he never, ever wanted to see the other's timeline. And, if he could help it, he didn't want Red to go back. 

The sound of a door opening downstairs causes Papyrus to perk up. Looking at a clock on the dresser, he sees that awhile has passed since he first entered the room. Sans shift was already over--at least, it would be, but Sans tends to go overboard in working overtime. Hopefully the other skeleton would think better of it and stay home when he was supposed to for once. He hears his brother exclaim an, "Pappy, I'm home!" Before there's a pause, and it's followed up by, "sorry, Boss! I meant the other Pappy! But hello to you too!" Papyrus couldn't help but snicker at this, before standing up and holding out a hand to Red. "If you want to talk some tonight, about...feelings, or whatever, just let me know okay? Believe me, I know how hard it is to show them, but neither of us can pretend we don't have them. Just bear that in mind."

Red looked like he wanted to say more, but the fight evaporated from his bones and he decided that he would just try to accept the fact that Papyrus wasn’t going to give up in trying to help him. “You should get changed, your clothes are fucked,” he said, allowing himself to crack a smile. Papyrus’ hoodie was definitely wrecked, sporting tears and a big, ugly stain of DETERMINATION from when Red had accidentally hurt him. He accepts the other’s hand, however, and feels the other’s phalanges tighten around him for support as they both work in tugging him to his feet. Red stumbled a bit, having been curled up on the floor for so long, but when he regained his sturdiness looked up at Papyrus with an unreadable expression before suddenly yet hesitantly pulling himself into a loose embrace with the taller skeleton, paying no mind to the wet stain on the hoodie. He was wearing black and red anyways, so it wouldn’t be noticeable.

Papyrus was taken completely off guard when Red had hugged him. He hadn't expected the other to hug him within the next million years, seeing how he was so uncomfortable when Papyrus initiated them. But he was quick to reciprocate, wrapping his arms around the shorter skeleton tight. In that moment, he knew that his efforts to help the other weren't futile. He only hugged a bit tighter when Red relaxed against him. Yeah...this was all he needed to keep going. He backed away, chuckling when he realized Red was right. 

"Yeah...torn up and covered in DETERMINATION. Sans probably doesn't even think I can bleed." He backed away and gently clapped Red on the shoulder. The latter skeleton looked like he hadn’t wanted to let go, but Papyrus pretended not to notice. "I'll get to that. Meet ya downstairs, yeah?" With that, Papyrus was about to leave the room, but then remembered this was his room, and wandered over towards his closet. He grabbed a shirt that read 'cool dude' on it, and on top of the words rested a basketball wearing sunglasses. He hasn't worn this shirt in ages...but since he was literally bones, he shouldn't have a problem wearing it. Stripping of his hoodie, he put on the tank before slipping on some bangles as well to hide the chipping in his arms.

"It might stress me out a little bit, but you don't need to worry about that. Because...that's what friends are for, right?" Papyrus admitted as he shrugged each of the bangles on individually, but on the inside he was fretting. Was it okay to call Red that? A friend? Their relationship so far was so complicated, but it seemed like Red opening up to him at all was a priviledge, which made him feel a bit more confident in his choice to call the other skeleton that. "I'd assumed that since you were alternate versions of us, that he'd have at least a scrap of care for you. I was wrong." Oh, how he wished he wasn't.

"The fact you care at all is all of the reassurance I need." Papyrus said. "Soon, you'll want it more and more...once you stop denying yourself the luxury. I'll tell you again and again: you deserve it, you deserve it. You're worth it. You're worth saving, worth helping." He couldn't have meant his words more, he realized. He wanted Red to see that he needed this, and that he shouldn't be denied it. Never should have been.

“Friend?” Red had copied, the rest of what Papyrus had said being blocked out as he contemplated the word. Papyrus considered him a friend? The concept was foreign to him. If any Monster called you their friend, in his timeline, it was an amateur murderer trying to coax you into trusting them before backstabbing you. But he knew that it held a different sort of meaning here, just from looking up at Papyrus with an incredulous expression and seeing a nervous but genuine intent in the other’s sockets.

Not wanting to go downstairs, Red clambered back into Papyrus’ bed and leaned back against the wall, sighing. He didn’t want to go down; only Hell awaited him there. But he knew that despite it all he would have to eventually. T’was the fact of life, after all.

Papyrus hadn't been expecting to see Red when he turned around again, but couldn't help but go a bit orange when he realized he'd changed in front of Red, even if he was pretty sure the other skeleton hadn't been looking. He never really went around without wearing something very modest on, and though he was naturally quick to relax--he couldn't do anything about it, after all--he was still just a little bit bothered. Red didn’t understand why Papyrus looked so flustered, though. There was nothing indecent, at least in his eyes, that Papyrus was doing. Little to his knowledge, in this timeline it was very intimate to show other Monsters your soul. Of course he wasn’t doing so willingly, since his ribs didn’t leave much to the imagination when his hoodie was removed, but the fact that it was visible was still there.

It was the typical upside-down white, though it was encased in orange, the essence of his magic. A Monster soul only turned completely white without colorful opacity when they met death. If he were to ever find out that Boss had done what he did to Red...he probably would kill the other version of himself regardless of what Sans said against it. He couldn’t let his little brother be around Monsters like that.

"Don't want to go down?" He guessed once his embarrassment had subsided. It made sense--Red's brother was down there, and Red was probably still pretty sensitive since they'd had this talk, which had been preceeded by a panic attack. "We can go down together. But if we don't go down there, Sans will come up here, and he won't give up until we go down with him." He walked over to Red, holding out his hand again, but this time more for comfort rather than trying to help Red up. Because getting out of a bed really wasn't that difficult in retrospect. Of course he thought it was, some days, when his depression hit particularly hard. But something told him that Red was the type of Monster that didn’t want help with something so presumably trivial.

Red decided to not respond to Papyrus, forcing himself out of bed and starting with a slouched posture towards the door. He knew that Boss would jibe at him for the obvious weakness, but right now, after his breakdown, felt a bit too numb to truly care. He opened the door and started out, down the stairs, with Papyrus trailing behind him. Already Boss was shouting about how he was a slut, sleeping around with anyone that he could. Had he not remembered what Papyrus said before about abuse in his house? His right eye flared with magic, but Red prodded him in the side. When he glanced down, Red was shaking his head. “Don’t hurt him,” he said, tone soft. “S’no hope in him getting better if you do.” Papyrus wanted to disagree, but it wasn’t possible to argue with logic like that, so he relented.

Sans had been just about ready to retrieve the two missing skeleton brothers. Boss would probably say something dirty about their prolonged absence, but if he did, Sans did his best to tune him out for now. He was trying to make something different tonight--Alphys had suggested he try making pasta, and he decided on spaghetti. He tried to make it once, years ago, but he'd made a huge mess. Maybe now that he was older it wouldn't be so bad? He hummed as he stirred the noodles in the pot, preparing to drain so that he could add the seasonings and cheese. He’d heard the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs, and started stirring with more enthusiasm.

Papyrus sighed. He didn't want to admit it, but Red was right. "Yeah, you're right there. I'd just be making Sans' job harder..." He could tell that Red was bothered by his suddenly dark demeanor, no matter how brief, and made a mental note to control himself better in the future. He didn't want to mirror the other's brother in any shape or form, no matter what. But that time, his imitation of Boss' voice had been a bit more genuine and less forced. Which was exactly why he planned to keep himself in check in the future. Sans didn't like the words that Boss was using towards his brother, and had thus struggled to tune them out. His bro had never used such words, no matter how bad his mouth used to be, and it felt so strange since it was frowned upon in the Underground to use such words towards other Monsters. 

Papyrus scented the air as he went to claim his usual spot on the couch. Ah...spaghetti. It really has been awhile. A few minutes later, Sans emerged with a pot of finished, steaming spaghetti. "Brother, I did it this time!" He exclaimed giddily. Papyrus smiled, flashing the other a double thumbs up. Sans got to work on putting several bowls on the coffee table, filling them each with a spoonful of spaghetti then placing the pot on a surface that wouldn't get ruined by the heat it held from the stove. "I hope you all like it!" He cheered, as per usual, as he offered a bowl with a fork towards Boss; after asking Papyrus to lower the outer defenses, at least.

Red meandered over to the coffee table where the spaghetti was being laid out, taking a breath of the smell of it himself. It smelled better than anything he’d ever had before--other than dinner from last night, at least. He sat down at the edge of it as Sans dished up his plate. Boss himself ate the spaghetti he was given, keeping a keen eye on the other three skeletons as they slowly grew more unassuming.

Suddenly, minutes into the peaceful dinner, Boss slipped from his spot within the bone cage. Papyrus hadn't really thought to raise the defenses of the bones back up, since they would need to collect the bowl afterwards, and all three of them were in the room to keep an eye on Boss. However, it had proven to be a mistake. As he sat down next to Red and his brother, between the two of them, he was quick to get comfortable and just relax into the meal. Sans had done a pretty good job cooking, seeing how this was the first time he'd successfully cooked the pasta. Hell, he thought that this might just become his favorite food…

Papyrus jolted when he heard a pained noise from Red, head turning to look at the other skeleton so fast that he almost gave himself whiplash. It took him one horrifying second to register the bone protruding from Red's chest. The smaller skeleton had made a choked noise in his throat, fork falling to his plate with a clatter, spaghetti twisted onto it. It had impaled dangerously close to Red’s soul, and nearly to where it would have severed his spine. Red’s position had at first been rigid as his brain processed the excruciating pain, before he fell forward in a limp heap, the bone bumping against the coffee table and wounding more ribs as it jerked from within Red’s ribcage.

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=6pncw2)

There was a period of indecision--care for Red and make sure his soul hadn't been struck, or lash out at Boss?


	7. Give It A Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red is severely injured, and in need of immediate medical attention. But first they need to subdue Boss so that nobody gets more hurt, or worse, dusted. Sans does things the peaceful (and maybe somewhat crazy) way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the belated update! I know I drove more than a few people crazy with the cliffhanger. But I caught a killer cold among a few other things that took up my time. This chapter is just under 3,000 words, but I hope it's enough to tide you guys over for now! Enjoy chapter seven! If you have any comments or questions, feel free to send them my way! :>
> 
> Also, shout out to Snasberries and Sora_Tayuya for their continued reviews! You guys rock!  
> Please don't critique me too hard on the lack of Papyrus' action in the situation?? Uhh. Yeah...*sinks into the void*

Papyrus ended up deciding to care for Red, seeing how the skeleton had asked him to not hurt his brother. But he did summon several Gaster Blasters to surround the other, bones jutting up from the ground in an attempt to contain him again. His eye was glowing orange to maintain the magic, as he Hoped that he wouldn't be attacked in his moment of inactivity, clutching Red in his arms as he attempts to get rid of the bone. "You doing okay?" He asked, as Sans took action on the other side of the room to keep Boss away from the two of them, or at the least convince him to stop. Papyrus mentally thanked his brother, though now he had to also Hope that Sans wouldn't get hurt like he had last time.

“I’ve been through worse,” Red grit out in response to Papyrus’ inquiry, groaning in pain and clutching at the bone in his chest as the other tugged at the bone lodged in his ribcage. A bone that didn’t belong there like the others did. It had struck so close to his soul, and Red knew that if Boss had really wanted to, he wouldn’t have missed. But no, he wanted to put his big brother through the seven circles and have him begging for Mercy in return for the betrayal he’d committed before, back when they first got to this timeline. It wasn’t hard for Red to draw that conclusion.

“You don’t have to do this,” Sans told Boss, a frown uncharacteristic of the normally bubbly skeleton on his face. “You can SPARE him, and we can talk this out, and get along, and…” Boss wore a cruel smirk on his face, and Sans in response took a nervous step back. He didn’t dare challenge the other’s dominating stance, as despite his confidence, he’d nearly been killed by this very skeleton before, and didn’t want to stress Papyrus to worrying about two people at one time. Especially when one of them was already severely wounded, with several ribs severely cracked from the proximity of the bone invading the space.

Sans thought that he was getting somewhere, since Boss hadn't attacked him, but the menacing glare he got as the other skeleton looked down at him sent a shiver down his spine, rattling his bones. But his hands tightened into his fists, posture becoming rigid with determination. Determination to get through to the other skeleton. "Boss, please..." He plead, trying again, hoping that by continuing, he might win this with just words and not any violence. "Please, just stop. Have some MERCY."

Papyrus had been careful but hasty in removing the bone, wincing at the shattered bone as some chips of it fell in his lap. He couldn't really explain the emotions he felt in that moment. An intense anger, sadness, fear--just like he felt when his own brother Sans was attacked by the kid and killed. He wanted to use his healing magic to mend the wound, but it hadn't done damage to his HP. But he used it anyways, instead of healing, focusing more on numbing the pain. Tears were already welling up in Red’s eyes, however, DETERMINATION seeping from the marrow and effectively staining the shorts. Damn, they had been Papyrus’ favorite. But regardless, Red’s life was more important. Not an appropriate thought.

"How could you have any worse than this?" He asked, a crack in his becoming distraught tone. His gaze, alight with an orange aura, saw a small skeleton with a blue bandana and grey battle body in his arms. Red looked so much like him, it was almost uncanny. He wanted to flee the scene, take Red somewhere safe, but he couldn't leave Sans here, and he couldn't leave Boss free to roam the Underground, either.

"Let me know if the pain starts to fade. I'm trying to make it less bad for you." He reached up a free hand, wiping away the red tears building up at the other's eye sockets, dark voids without their eyelights. It again reminded him of his brother Sans, both yesterday and in the old timelines...he forced himself for what felt like the millionth time to not lose himself in his more bitter memories. He'd only be shooting himself in the foot by doing so.

Boss meanwhile was glaring down at Sans still. “You are all weak, and kindness only brings you pain. How is it you have not learned this yet?!” He exclaimed. Suddenly and without warning his gloved hand shot down, long phalanges curling around Sans’ bandana and lifting him into the air, the other’s weight against his grip threatening to rip the fabric, or choke Sans.

Sans was about to retort, challenge Boss' perspective on MERCY, but he made a pained noise as he was lifted up some by Boss' grip on his bandana. His hands lifted to unclasp it from his neck out of desperation to not choke, him thumping back to the ground on his butt when this happened. He glanced up at Boss, reaching feebly for his bandana and tears springing to his eyes when he heard a tearing sound. The other had taken the fabric into his grip, smirking devilishly, or perhaps in satisfaction, at the sound of tearing as it filled the air around them."P-please, stop!" Sans whimpered. "My bro made that for me!" He'd had it for years and never taken it off.

As Papyrus tried to hastily and yet thoroughly heal Red with only partial success, Edge had cackled at Sans’ reaction to the situation. At this point, many would see him as more of a bully than a terrorist. This was a petty taunt to try and get a rise out of Sans; judging from the blue beading at the corners of the shortest’s eye sockets, it was working. Without another moment of hesitation Edge finished the cloth off, a satisfying (at least to him) ripping sound filling the air as Sans’ eyes widened, a gasp falling from his mouth, as he stared unseeingly at the pile of cloth now in a tattered heap at his feet. The tears spilled over his cheekbones, dripping onto his now bare clavicle.

Sans grunts but doesn’t react too strongly when Boss kicked him to the ground with the heel of his boot, pressing into the bones there. The skeleton was more vulnerable to the pointed shoe now that he wasn’t wearing his battle body, but Blue had become oddly numb. “You’re fucking pitiful,” Boss insulted the other, digging his heel into Sans’ sternum, causing the small skeleton to wince and reach his hands up, clutching at the ankle that pinned him--quite easily, he thought sadly--to the floor.

 

Sans tried desperately to alleviate the pressure from the other’s boot pressing him firmly and painfully into the floor. Tears continued spilling down his face, him sniffling despite having no nose. But then suddenly, he got an idea. Despite his obvious fear, he looked up at Boss directly in the eye. "...What do you value most in the world?" He asked. "It can be anything." It would be a hard question to answer--surely there were many factors.

“I already told you, you overzealous imbecile,” Boss grunted, “the only thing I care about in this world--or any other, for that matter--is power.” Somewhere along the way he had also come to enjoy bringing others immense pain, whether they were already submissive to him or not. But that couldn’t be too hard to figure out. He couldn’t believe how sentimental Sans was, treasuring a scrap of fabric like that. But he felt no remorse, only a swell of satisfaction at seeing the pain on the other skeleton’s face, a smirk crossing his own.

"You have to care for something," Sans persisted, sitting up on his elbows as he continued looking up at Boss. "Everyone cares for something. Family, friends, their home...power, as you say..." He trailed off, fiddling with his phalanges. He grabbed the remains of his bandana, staring at them for a moment with a solemn expression before he shoved it down the front of his shirt. Maybe it could be fixed, he thought, clinging onto Hope. It was hard to be hopeful in this situation, however. Though he thought he could see the slightest weakening of resolve in the other’s hardened gaze. Perhaps that was what was holding Papyrus back, or perhaps it had been his insistence that he get through this alone. Either way, the second-tallest skeleton was having a hard time refraining from lashing out, and instead tending to the other’s shattered ribcage.

"Be honest with yourself, and you'll feel so much better..." Sans breathed, allowing his eye sockets to close for a long moment. When they opened again, his eyes were their usual bright blue. "Think about what you're doing...do you really want to do it? Do you feel...obligated?" Another pause. He had to choose his words carefully--he would either get through to Boss, or this would be the death of himself, his alternate, and his brother. Shakily, he held up a hand. "Allow yourself peace, Boss...help me to my feet, and I'll help you to yours." His eyes were pleading, hopeful. He was hoping beyond hope that he'd played his cards right.

“I am being honest with myself, don’t tell me how to feel,” Boss exclaimed. “You have to be powerful to get what you want. You won’t get anywhere in life unless you assert yourself to others. For not seeing this, you are pathetic and shouldn’t exist. This entire universe is vomit-inducing.” And yet he didn’t even so much as chip at Sans’ HoPe. Red turned his head to hide his face in Papyrus’ shirt, not wanting to witness the murder of a Monster that both annoyed and interested him. “The only way you can make it in the world is caring for yourselves, and having no compassion for others. You should stop pretending.” The pressure Boss applied to Sans’ chest intensified somewhat, and the shortest skeleton hissed in a sharp breath of pain, still staring up with eyes wide. “You need to learn to fight back.”

Even as Boss went on his tangent, Sans tirelessly held his hand up in an askance for help to his feet. "That's what the world wants you to think," he said, still not giving up. His soul begun to resonate from within his ribcage, filling him with the desire to get through to Boss. At the same time, the energy from his soul was reaching out to the other's soul as well, attempting to fill him with the same endless love he felt. "You're not wherever you were before, anymore. Us Monsters are made of nothing but love and compassion. I'm telling you right now, if you give me--no, if you give us--a chance, you'll find that there are plenty of Monsters here that are readily willing to show you love. And not the bad kind."

Papyrus watched all of this, a smile threatening to tug at his face. His brother was in danger, but even in the face of it, he persisted and didn't fight back. It reminded him of the timelines where Chara wasn't possessed by Frisk, and had tirelessly continued trying time and time again to get all of the Monsters to be friends with them, even if they were killed in the process. "My brother is so cool..." He mumbled for the second time since Boss and Red had gotten here. He really did admire his younger brother. 

"I can show you. You just have to give me a chance." Sans tried, once more. "You don't have to hate anymore. You don't have to hurt. You don't have to be afraid. You don't have to be strong. Weakness is okay sometimes, so long as you don't let it stop you from achieving what you want. But you shouldn't have to hurt others on the way to get there." Still, his hand was raised.

If Boss had a lip to curl in disgust, that is exactly what it would have done. However, his foot withdrew from it’s place firmly planted on Sans’ chest, and he took a step back. “Say that it was possible to make friends. What’s the point? They’d turn their back on you at some point, eventually. They never stick around. They’d just backstab you.”

"In your timeline, maybe," Sans repeated. At this point, many people's resolve may have completely vanished. But Sans, it seemed, was a special skeleton. "We're made of positive energy here." He exhaled. "...I'll be your friend." A pause. "I'll be your friend, and I won't leave you or hurt you or anything." Another pulse of positive energy is shot towards Boss. Sans wasn't much better than Red, if he was honest with himself. He was more than a little scared, but that wouldn't stop him. Why start something if you didn't plan to go through with it? That's why he lives by. What he'd always lived by. That was why he wouldn't give up.

Boss finally let out a growl, taking Sans’ hand and yanking him roughly to his feet. He told himself that he would show Sans after gaining trust what friendship truly meant in his universe. How trust was a tool used to hurt someone more than you would by just killing them off the bat. “Fine,” he grunted.

Sans didn't know about Boss' underhanded intentions, but at the time it seemed that the other pulling him to his feet meant that the worst of it had passed, and that Boss was willing to give him a chance. Once he was to his feet, he was a little bit disoriented and stumbled, but once he was steady again, he wrapped his arms the best he could around the other skeleton. His arms were too short to go all the way around the other's battle body--Hell, he was hardly tall enough for his arms to reach the other's upper battle body without having to reach up on tip toes--but that was okay, because as far as he knew, things were going to be better now. 

"Thank you so much," he said, taking a step back and beaming up at Boss. His eyes sparkled with such intensity that he might as well have had the entire sky in them. So many shades of blue..."I'll prove it to you, I swear! I won't let you down!" Papyrus himself let out a sigh of relief. He still didn't trust Boss like Sans seemed to--his brother had always been the one to give others the unconditional benefit of the doubt--but as far as he could tell, just like Sans, he thought that maybe Boss was finally simmering down. He stood up carefully, Red held carefully in his arms. "It won't be healing magic, but I think I know a way to seal your ribs back together...while the bones actually reconnect you're going to have to take it really easy, though." He told the other, before starting for the stairs, where in the bathroom was all of the medical supplies. He would likely need it in addition to his magic in order to help Red and his broken body.


	8. The Beginnings of Something Beautiful -- Or Maybe Not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus takes care of Red.  
> Edge has problems. And a sick sense of humor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yee! Updated on time for once!  
> Shout-out to Flamefriends for the support, and LivingSplice for their much appreciated critique of my work!  
> I apologize to everyone for some of the OOC behaviors, but for Boss, I promise there is a reason! Also, Papyrus' and Red's relationship is rushed on purpose. Blue and Boss is where the slow burn comes in. Everything happens for a purpose to build up to the plot that is to come! Severe drama coming next week!  
> Now, without further ado, here is the eighth installment to Corrupt Me!

When Papyrus got Red upstairs and into the bathroom, he got right to work in searching for the biggest roll of linen bandages he had. His magic was still working at numbing the pain, and trying to piece the other’s shattered bones back together; though due to the fact he didn’t specialize in healing magic, it didn’t go very far; tears were still streaming down Red’s face, but at least he didn’t look like he was on the verge of passing out anymore. Red reached for the hem of his jacket, taking it as well as his red turtleneck sweater off, the bloody clothes falling to the floor in a heap. Papyrus made a note to give him some spare clothes, trying to not pay too much attention to the other’s exposed ribs and soul. It was still somewhat indecent, but they weren’t doing anything--this was mere medical attention. Red paid it no mind, as modesty was not a practice in his universe. Papyrus tried to imitate indifference, and was somewhat successful.

He unraveled a more than generous amount of bandages, winding it carefully around the other’s ribs to hold them in place, as well as in some fractured (but fortunately not broken) parts of the other’s spine. It was amazing he hadn’t been paralyzed by the blow, though it seemed Red was already immobilized by just pain alone. The fact he could feel pain is what reassured Papyrus that the other hadn’t been crippled for life. "How do you feel?" He asked the other skeleton.

Sans had watched as Papyrus disappeared from sight with his alternate held in his arms. He was honestly surprised the other had departed after such an episode, figuring that the orange-clad skeleton would not want to leave him alone. But! He was perfectly capable of himself, and as far as he could tell, he had subdued Boss all on his own! He puffed his chest out as he turned to Boss, a big smile on his face. “Well! Where to start,” he said, thinking for a moment, before his eyes brightened. Boss didn’t try to conceal the gag at the other’s vomit-inducing expression; it was so happy. But Sans pretended not to notice. “How about...you give me a nickname? I gave you one, so it’s only fair!”

A million and one insulting names came to Boss’ mind. It wouldn’t be the first time, as he had called Red by such profane names for years. But if he was going to get anywhere, he needed to cooperate. With a much exaggerated and heavy sigh, he grumbled out, “well, you called my Sans Red. So why not Blue?” He applied as much emphasis to his disdain of the scenario as was possible, but the newly nicknamed Blue seemed pleased that Boss was cooperating at all. “Muehehe! That’s a great name!” He chirped, practically bouncing in place, and Boss glared at the mirth coming off of the little skeleton in waves, rolling his eyes.

When Red reached to put his shirt back on, Papyrus shook his head. He may be embarrassed at seeing the other bare, but he couldn’t have him wearing that bloody thing, with a hole protruding from the chest. It was in tatters. “Why are you so...sheepish towards me being undressed?” Red grumbled, rolling his eyes as he finally noticed the other’s said sheepish behavior, toeing around Red as if he might snap. He may be severely wounded, but he was hardy--he had to be, since the only way to kill him was with a strike to the soul. “Either way, you don’t have to worry about being so careful. I’m perfectly fine.” He was lying through his teeth, and though he hoped Papyrus wouldn’t notice, it seemed that today was not his lucky day. In multiple situations. Damn.

Papyrus sighed. "Red, you don't have to lie, okay?" He told Red. The smile the other skeleton had forced looked more like a grimace. "I asked the question more out of obligation, I'll be honest...I know you don't feel well, and likely won't for awhile. You don't have to pretend." He sighed when Red only stared back at him. 

"Come on, let's get you somewhere more comfortable." He looped his arms around Red, lifting him up. He adjusted his grip once he'd gotten the other off of the counter, left hand pressed up against his pelvis, right holding his back, just under the neck. He gently pushed the other's face towards his neck as he left the bathroom, kicking his bedroom door open gently with a foot and walking in, over to his bed. Once he carefully set Red down, he sat on the edge, thinking of more to say...and came up with nothing.

Sans--or Blue, rather--hadn't failed to notice his brother from where he sat, carrying Red into the bedroom. His gaze went from giddy to a softness more his age at the sight, a smaller smile gracing his expression before he turned back towards Boss. "My brother is just what your brother needs, you know," he said, tone now at appropriate room volume. "Maybe I can be something you need, too."

Boss scoffed, barking a gruff and humorless laugh at the words of the shortest skeleton next to him. “Please, I don’t need anybody. I am head of the Royal Guard back in my universe! I don’t need pathetic little weaklings like you to watch over me.” Boss cast a glance in the direction of Papyrus’ room, snorting with disgust. “I couldn’t give a damn about my brother, either. He’ll probably just sleep with your brother like the fucking whore he is; it wouldn’t be anything new.” It didn’t matter to Boss whether or not he’d crippled his brother beyond the hope of even thinking about having sex with Papyrus, as the more aggressive and short skeleton had no interest either way. But if Boss knew this, he didn’t care.

Red had grumbled in a weak protest as he was carried and placed into the bed, but hadn’t caused much of a fuss overall, arms looped around Papyrus’ neck and legs wrapped around his sternum until he was put down. Papyrus was quick to help the skeleton into a new shirt, a deep navy blue that read in bold white capital letters, ‘PUNNY’. Red was even a bit reluctant to let go at first, but had smiled appreciatively at the silly shirt and settled quickly into the covers as Papyrus yet again absently tucks the stout skeleton in.

Why was Papyrus being so nice to him? He and his brother just barge in, nearly kill his brother (even if he hadn’t exactly been involved, he didn’t ACT until someone had nearly died), and then proceed to eat food and sleep in his bed and then cause more trouble...and all he gets is seated on the counter, patched up, and a kiss on the forehead in the form of getting to yet again sleep in someone else’s bed; Papyrus didn’t even put him here to have his way with him as a form of payment. It was so different from his culture, back in his universe. But despite the suspiciousness of it, he knew that Papyrus had no ulterior motives. He could relax here, couldn’t he? Boss aside…

"Do you want me to leave?" Papyrus asked Red. Papyrus wouldn't have asked normally, but he noticed he seemed to be getting through to the tormented skeleton lately, and wondered if his presence would be viewed as more a gift, or a curse. He thought of the last almost two days...and how fast Red had seemed to loosen up around him. Boss would take a lot longer, but it seemed all of the stressful situations had made his job both a lot easier and a lot harder. Papyrus could better read Red and his emotions, but at the same time...if they hadn't happened in the first place…

“I don’t really care what you do; it’s your room. Since when have I been in control?” Red grumbled, closing his eye sockets and snuggling deeper into the mattress. It really was so soft in comparison to the hard floor that had been in his own room. Despite his words, Red had tentatively reached out to take Papyrus’ hand in his own. He hadn’t been expecting the other to even offer to stay with him, though it had touched him. He wasn’t used to the affection, and hadn’t realized he craved it until it was shown to him. He felt...loved. Why couldn’t his Papyrus be like this?

"You don't have to worry about my comfort, Red. I'm good either way." Papyrus replied, but Red grabbing his hand was the only true answer he needed. Squeezing Red's hand in his own, he slides into the bed, twisting so that he had his legs on the bed and laying down. He rested on the top of the covers while Red was underneath, because whether he liked it or not, this was a twin and he didn't want to violate the other's space more than he had to. He could tell that Red preferred to have as big a space bubble as possible. Though the hand-holding made Papyrus feel like he was special; it was like the ultimate bestowing of trust.

 

Red ended up snuggling closer to Papyrus when the other joined him in the bed, gripping the fabric of the normally orange clad skeleton’s shirt. Personal space be damned, this skeleton made him feel safe. He grumbled as if he was reluctant to do it, but when he was in such pain, he didn’t really think straight. Not to mention, the positive energy from Papyrus’ soul was like a drug, and he wanted more of it. A crooked, awkward smile appeared on Red’s face; it almost hurt to smile, as he wasn’t used to having to do so. It was a bit freaky, but endearing when it was so rare.

If there was anything Papyrus was expecting, it was definitely not Red cuddling up to his side. Not only that, but clinging to him, like he had when he was being carried around the house. His cheek bones dyed a deep tangerine as he finally allowed himself to scoot a bit closer. The blanket separating them was something that seemed suddenly very painfully obvious, but he made no move to climb under them, not exactly knowing Red's limits. He decided that he liked seeing the gentle smile the other wore. It was genuine, even if it was small. He hoped that, one day, it would be a big one. Maybe he'd even be able to coax a laugh from the other…

Hell, why not try that right now? 

"Hey, Red...why couldn't the skeleton go to church?" Papyrus whispered, blinking down at the other with a smile of his own tugging at his face.

Blue gawked in utter shock at Boss’ shameless accusation. Upon searching the tallest skeleton’s expression, he found no remorse, and felt something ugly twist in his core. How could Red’s own brother call him something so derogatory? He didn’t get it! He had been utterly mortified by the vulgar language. "Boss, that isn't a nice thing to say!" He chided, though he looked like a pouting child, with his cheek bones somehow puffed up and dyed a light blue. "He's just unstable, and needs a friend. Paps is super laid back, and I think that's all Red needs is an easy lifestyle." What would it take to get Boss to stop bullying his brother like that?

“Why do you feel the need to defend him?” Boss asked, quirking a brow and smirking crookedly. “Are you a prostitute, too? He’s a complete waste of space; a waste of air. I don’t know why I tried so hard in keeping him alive back in my universe. I should have dusted him years ago.”

"But he's your older brother too, right?" Blue replied. "That means he has to of taken care of you at some point, while you grew up. Maybe there's something that you don't know about that's making it hard for him to do what you want him to?" It was a guess, but Blue could have not been more on-target with his words. "You can be in control by being good, too," he said after a moment's pause. "You can control people by being a good leader. Monsters will know they can count on you, and in turn make it so you know you can count on them. Then it's not so one-sided." His eyes sparkled, and he beamed. "A lot like the royal guard! That's why I want to join so bad!"

“How is it you have a royal guard when all of you are so piteously kind to one another?” Boss scoffed, rolling his eyes. “When I was in my universe, no-one fucked with me or my troops. You could learn to follow my example. Red was on the squad once, as the sentry, but he did a shit job and lost it pretty fast. He would have been executed if I didn’t come in and save his sorry ass. I’ve had to save him from multiple attacks, and all he did was become a drunken sod at Grillby’s, living off of mustard and spending my hard-earned money. How can you expect me to harbor any sort of compassion for a mooching sack of shit like that?”

"Well, what matters is that he tried, even if it wasn't very much. I don't think he deserves what he's gotten, though...and whatever you were trying to prove, he's learned his lesson." He cast a glance at the stairs, where Blue knew his brother and Boss' brother were in the former's room, doing who knows what. 

His expression was something that couldn't be deciphered...at least, until he glanced over as Boss. His expression brightened again at the chance to prattle about the royal guard. "Wow, you were the leader of the royal guard?! I'm so seriouly jealous. But the royal guard here is more existing to keep an eye out for Humans than to maintain peace in the Underground as a whole. Since Monsters here are made out of positive emotions, there isn't really anybody with the...ambition to do bad things, I guess?" He shrugged. "But you should meet Alphys! She is the coolest royal guardsman leader ever!"

“That batshit scientist that kidnaps Monsters to do freaky and shady experiments on?” Boss replied, crooking a brow. “Hah! She wouldn’t last a minute in the Royal Guard!” Blue shook his head, quickly. “No! Undyne is the scientist here! And she doesn’t do freaky experiments...she’s a real shy sweetheart. I think they’ve both got something for each other, though.” Boss just scoffed. “More like fuckbuddies. Bizarre as shit; who would want to fuck a fish? Or a lizard?” Blue, despite the fact that Boss could disregard him perfectly, scowled. “Language!” He chided, and Boss just gave him a disdainful look, which caused the shorter skeleton to wilt.

But seeing as Boss wasn't attacking Blue anymore, and seems to have not thought about attacking him since they'd stopped, the idea of getting through to the menacing skeleton and getting him to be nicer to Red didn't seem far off. But it was obvious that it would still take a lot of work to completely eliminate the other's murderous tendencies. In fact, it was possible that they would never truly, completely go away. He would just have to learn to suppress them, if he was to stay here. Baby steps, Blue would say. Baby steps…

"I think you should just talk to him." Blue suggested. "Without any malice. Just...a heart-to-heart. Even just saying hello, or asking how he's doing, can go a really, really long way. Sometimes it's the little things that mean the most to Monsters."

"It might not be easy, but...making an effort can make all the difference. I don't know if Red will ever truly forgive you, or if maybe he already has. But if I could die knowing that I made an effort to be better...that's all I would need to be at peace with myself, you know?" Blue, yet again, shrugged. He didn't expect Boss to understand immediately.

“I dunno...what?” Red murmured in response, blinking up to look at Papyrus in the face, through sleepy eyes. He figured that he might as well try to enjoy himself now, before he was forced back to his universe or Boss finally dusted him. If Papyrus could help it, Red would never, ever return to his own timeline, and he wouldn't be killed by Boss. He was perfectly content with having the other skeleton stay here for as long as he cared to stay. Hell, it was getting to a point that he might stop Red from going back, if he were to try, or Boss were to attempt to force him. But that wasn't an immediate issue, so he wasn't about to dwell on it right now. For now, they just needed to sit back and recover. Red was badly injured, and would probably be resting a lot for the next while.

Papyrus’ smile grew as he said the punchline to the joke. "Because they don't have any organs." He said after a pause for dramatic effect. The punchline was followed by a wink and a crooked, undoubtedly nerdy grin. He snickered at his own joke, shifting where he lay so that his left arm was more tucked underneath him, and throwing his right over the other's shoulder, the crook of his elbow tucking into the crook of Red's neck.

Red had let loose a raspy laugh at the bad joke. He thought of ‘cracking’ his own, but ultimately decided against it. It would probably be too dark for Papyrus to find any amusement in it. But Papyrus seemed happy enough with his reaction, much to his relief. “That was pretty bad,” he mumbled, but he meant it as a compliment. Papyrus nodded in agreement, perfectly deadpan, which caused Red to laugh a bit harder this time. He hadn’t laughed this much in...well, ever, really. Or at least longer than he could think back.

Despite Red's small reaction, Papyrus beamed as well as a skeleton as laid back as him could. It might as well have been like the other had busted out laughing, because he was pretty sure he wouldn't have been successful just a few hours ago. He wouldn't be surprised one bit if Red had a bit of darker humor, seeing how he came from a much...darker place. "Glad you find my jokes humerus," he said, and he could just hear the 'ba dum tsch' echo in his mind before he scooted closer as well, as seemed to be somehow possible, resting his skull over the top of Red's.

“Thanks for uhh, helping me, Papyrus,” Red grunted after a few minutes of silence. "'Was no problem, Red," he replied. And finally, tentatively, the taller skeleton allowed himself to grab at the covers, slipping under them and then proceeding to press so close to Red that it would be difficult to tell where one skeleton ended, and the other began. He didn’t know where the sudden need to be close came from; perhaps it was the positivity that tainted the air (albeit in a good way), making the two of them affectionate. But either way, it seemed that neither of them, at the moment, were complaining. Red had to be careful with how close he got, as his ribs were still aching and in pieces from under the gauze, but the healing magic Papyrus had used earlier helped a lot in easing the pain.

The two of them were quickly growing sleepy, between the warmth they both generated and the positive energy that tinged the air. Within minutes, they had both dozed off.

"Do you feel that?" Blue asked, closing his eyes and taking a moment to let the feeling of pure, unbridled happiness wash over him. It was coming from upstairs, and he couldn't remember having felt it from his brother before. Or could it have been Red? Maybe both? 

"That's...a really nice feeling. It's looks like Pappy has been doing a good job so far..." He sighed in a contented manner.

“It’s only a wonder what the Hell they’re doing up there,” Boss not-so-subtly accused the two skeletons upstairs. Blue looked mortified yet again, but before he could say anything in their defense Boss had already cut in and started speaking again. “How can he even stand a nickname like that? Pappy...that sounds so stupid. If you ever call me anything like that, I’ll strangle you.”

"They're probably just resting. Red was really badly hurt, you know." Another wince. Man, Blue was suddenly saying all the wrong things. "I know Pappy looked pretty upset at seeing Red hurt..." When Boss commented on the awfulness that was his brother's nickname, he chuckled. "Well hey, at least he isn't Sansy. Most people don't call me that, because it's more of an inside joke, but it's a lot worse. And...it's just kind of a force of habit? Like, I call him Paps sometimes, too."

Suddenly, Blue let out a yawn. 

"Actually, I'm pretty tired too...time really flew by today!" He thought for a moment. "Do you want to take my bed, Boss? I can sleep on the couch." He didn't really want to give up his space, but he didn't want a sore, cranky Boss either. Maybe Blue was more insightful than he let on…

“I don’t need sleep,” Boss insisted. “Alphys has found a way to make it so I need little to no rest; I have other means of replenishing energy. But...you going to tie me up or something? I am a murderer, after all.” He looked at Blue, though his words held a tone of mockery to it, as if he planned to not be cooperative if Blue really did try to tie him down somewhere. But he wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that he was a bit more than a little insane.

"I...I'm probably dumb, but I think I can trust you?" Blue said, a bit shakily. He certainly felt dumb. Not even an hour ago, Boss had nearly killed his own brother. However, it seemed that, for the past half hour, Boss had been more bark than bite. "Do you trust yourself, Boss? I can get Paps if you don't..." He really didn't want to disturb the two skeletons upstairs of whatever it was they were doing if he didn't have to, but he didn't want to put everyone in the house and possibly the Underground in danger, either. "We've been by ourselves, and you haven't tried attacking me again...that's gotta mean something, right?"

“Heh, I have no reason to attack, right?” That hadn’t stopped him before, but that went unsaid as he threw himself onto the sofa. “Wonder how long and well you could dodge my attacks…” He shook his head. “Go to bed. Hope ya die in your sleep.” He paused, smirking and looking over at Blue from the corner of his eye. “Ah, that’s right, you don’t say that around here, do you?”

"T-that's not funny, Boss!" Blue chided again, though he knew that it was futile at this point. Papyrus wouldn't have a very hard time blaming his other self for his violence, but Blue himself, indeed, couldn't see it as something that was in the skeleton's control. He was just so used to violence, that it had become deeply ingraned into his personality. Like a parasite.

"Dodging is more of my brother's thing, but I think I'd do okay!" His grin was wide, but he didn't know how genuine it was. Boss had somehow forced him into submission each time the two of them had a showdown; the first time having well nearly killed him. "Maybe you could teach me to fight better? I mean, you're pretty good at it, so maybe you'd be able to make me great, too!"

“You certainly weren’t good at dodging my attacks before when I was going all out. I hope you wouldn’t expect me to take it easy on you in training, either. Even if I were to teach you. Got any live Monsters to practice on?” He chuckled at the look he got from Blue in response. Of course he wouldn’t practice his attacks on living Monsters! That was messed up! “At best, you need to learn how to take a hit. You’re so goddamn fragile. If you can’t dodge, you need to be beefy enough to tough shit out, no matter what’s thrown at you.” It was true, Blue knew, but it still stung. He decided to try defending his dignity anyways.

 

"Hey, I have 20 HP!" Blue protested. "It's not like I have one HP, like my lazybones brother!" Of course, when Papyrus wasn't being a lazybones, he was more than powerful enough to make up for the lack of health he had, especially when you take a look at his speed stat. "And skeletons shouldn't bleed...! As far as I know! Though...Red did? Why?" He'd recalled the incident, when Red had been brutally injured by Boss, and had started bleeding DETERMINATION. 

It would be hard to say for the Underfell universe since Papyrus hadn't asked Red, but in the Underswap universe, Monsters typically don't bleed. Especially skeletons. The only reason Papyrus does is because of something that happened to him years ago...but Papyrus had never told Blue this, and so as far as he knew, the normally orange-clad skeleton didn't bleed.

"But you really must have a lot of HP, huh? You took so much damage, and you say that I'm weak..." He recalled just how much HP each of Boss' attacks had taken from him in the beginning. He must have a really high LV. "We don't practice on live Monsters, though! Alphys always had me practice on a dummy, and then when I mastered a lesson, she would have us both gear up real good to make sure we wouldn't hurt each other before we'd have a little duel." He recalled the last duel they'd had--Sans had been badly defeated, but that was okay! He still thought he did pretty good. The fight had gone on for almost ten whole minutes!

“Everyone from my universe bleeds,” Boss informed. “Though Alphys, through her freaky experiments, got to some Monsters and injected them with DETERMINATION, which can replace the blood. It’s what gives us Monsters our aggressive nature. But it had an additional effect on Red, and even though he only has one HP, he only takes damage if it strikes his soul. Useful, but fuckin’ weird.” He thought of the times he’d had his brother fight, back when he’d actually tried to force his brother to be like him. He’d given up trying years ago. Red had damned himself in refusing to attack. “Really though, 20 HP means jack shit. I have almost 70. What fun is training on a dummy anyways? It doesn’t move, so you’re only getting half the experience. Also only half the thrill. If I take you under my figurative wing, you’re going to be facing against me, and I won’t make it easy like your pussy instructor.” Blue parted his mouth to defend his friend, but Boss cut him off. “In my world, it was kill or be killed. It doesn’t matter what universe I’m in now--I’m still going to abide by that motto.”

"Kill or be killed..." Blue muttered, though he didn't know where the words had come from. He seemed shocked, and then grew flustered, face dying cerulean. But fortunately Boss brought up the two of them fighting, and he clung onto that topic so that he could forget he'd ever said the line that seemed to span the many universes. "I don't want to hurt you!" He exclaimed. Though he, honestly, doubted Boss would let him hit him anyways. His speed stat was definitely higher. "But...even if I'm pretty sure I won't have to hurt anybody, knowing how to fight is always good! So...I accept your offer! Muehehe!" 

Blue is then reminded of just how tired he is, yawning again. "Well, we can get started with all of that later! I have to get up early, so I'm going to bed! Goodnight, Boss!" With that he tackled the other skeleton in a quick hug, humming happily before running for the stairs. He's halfway up before he remembers that the other two skeletons upstairs must be sleeping at this point, and slows down considerably. It's almost comical how careful he is when closing his door, it clicking shut almost impossible to hear. 

He walks over to his bed, contemplating for a minute before taking off his shirt, getting changed. The pieces of his bandana flutter to the floor when he does so, and putting the shirt in his hamper, he reaches down and grabs the torn fabric, sighing and clutching it to his chest. "Paps can fix it," he told himself again, before putting the accessory into his drawer, and clambering into his bed. He tucks himself in, and after that, is quick to fall asleep.

Boss had slipped out the door when Blue disappeared upstairs, the door shutting with not even a click. He planned to explore, making no promises to himself that he wouldn’t kill someone. He didn’t need to be subtle; he could kill anything that got in his way, whether the other skeletons had something to say against it or not.

The tallest, menacing skeleton did end up killing a Woshua in Waterfall, when the bucket of bolts had tried to “clean his dirty soul”, but he didn’t care. It had been free EXP, even if it didn’t bring his LV up. He slipped back into the house at about 5 in the morning, when he got an idea. Going into the kitchen he rustled around until he found a salt shaker, smirking to himself. He had thought he was above pranks, but if he was going to hold off in killing someone, he was going to have some devious fun. 

He stepped upstairs, going into Blue’s room, and carefully ties the skeleton up. Heaving Blue over his shoulder, whom was waking up with the rough treatment, and yelled into the strip of fabric that Boss had silenced him with. He pressed an index finger to his mouth, a cruel smirk twisting his expresion. “Shh. If I can’t kill someone, I am going to have this childish amusement. After all, it is just a prank, right?” Blue ceased his struggles, though his still stared at Boss wide-eyed as he twisted the lid off of the salt-shaker, dumping it on the covers before carrying Blue out to the garage, depositing the skeleton there before heading back inside and flopping over on the couch, waiting for the chaos that would ensue.


	9. Salt and Sage For Your Sins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boss is still mean as ever, guys. Also, a time skip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said something terrible was going to happen this chapter, but it'll happen next chapter! I also apologize for how short the chapter is! I just really needed to get something out after two weeks of procrastination--I'm sorry for that by the way, guys! I got hit by a particularly large wave of lethargy and it just wouldn't let me go. But I woke up this morning feeling very determined! I hope this will be enough for now!
> 
> Also, 300 Kudos, and almost 5,000 views? Where did all of you people come from?! This is insane! But uh, regardless, thanks everyone for your attention! It means a lot!
> 
> Also, another shout-out to Sora_Tayuya for their continued support! You rock!

When Papyrus wakes up to the “sun” beating in his face and not his older brother's overenthusiasm, he's immediately on high alert. Looking back on it in the future, Papyrus might wish that he'd been a bit more careful, but when he tries to get out of bed in the moment, it's in a way so frantic that he could have woken the dead...well, the /real/ dead, at least. It consists of throwing himself backwards away from Red (that would be what he regretted the most; Red was still healing, after all) and twisting to get free of the blankets before tumbling to the floor. As soon as his back made contact with the carpet he had teleported, appearing in the hallway and throwing open his brother's bedroom door. He hadn't locked Boss back up again last night, what if something had _happened--_

He felt his soul sink when he saw what looked to be dust in his brother's sheets. Running over wide-eyed, he curses loud enough to be heard throughout the house, and some outside. A loud, uncensored, "FUCK!" His eye ablaze, he set out on a hunt for Red's brother, not knowing that it was all an elaborate prank... 

Later he would be in the right of mind to smell the "dust", and would find out what it truly was. On the contrary, the Gaster Blasters were definitely the real deal.

 

He’d eventually found Blue and Boss, sitting in the shed. Blue was bound silent and Boss was kicked back as if he were sunning, a cruel smirk twisting his expression. He’d tilted his head to look over at Papyrus, and...well, the orange-clad skeleton had nearly killed the slightly taller, more intimidating one. Through a series of careful actions, and a lot of almost-tears (he wouldn’t let himself cry in front of that bastard, Papyrus told himself), that fortunately didn’t happen, and Blue was set free. The elaborate pranking was done, and hopefully it would be the last one.

It had taken awhile for Papyrus to become truly okay with leaving Boss and Blue alone in a room without him there; especially after the "salt for dust" incident. It had triggered a long series of panic attacks, triggered from memories of his brother becoming truly dusted in the other timelines. His prank had cut Papyrus' deeper than he could have ever anticipated.

Unfortunately for Papyrus, that wasn’t the only prank played on him or the other skelebros. The last one to make him freak out about the safety of his brother, but not the last one. They were cruel and petty little things; from waking up one manner of brother or the other with bones protruding mere millimeters away from their face, to throwing bones at them and letting them get just before the point of touching before they would evaporate (he loved doing this to Blue in particular; his reactions were always the best. The scolding not so much though. He wasn’t some naughty kid!).

But overall, it seemed that Blue was finally getting through to Boss. As far as Papyrus knew (not knowing about the Woshua incident...), Boss had not killed a single Monster. Just gotten...really close, at times. He really wished that he could have had Blue's foolish enthusiasm and belief in others, because then maybe he could have gotten through to the kid? Even if it would have probably killed him with his lack of HP. Even now knowing that a small wisp of light could become brighter than the sun with a little help, he was pretty sure that he would never be able to summon such genuine trust for others the same way his brother could.

Despite all of the mean and borderline immoral pranks that would be played regularly, it turns out that Boss had actually successfully managed to not kill anything since the Woshua incident. Everyone knew of the little Woshua’s death, despite Boss’s assumption that nobody would remember it, but nobody knew who had killed it. Red was healing nicely, several days turning into several weeks, and that turning into a little over a month before the magic had accelerated Red’s healing rate enough for him to finally be considered well again. In the time spent bedridden, Papyrus tended to spend the day in bed with him, making the two skeletons practically inseparable.

Right now, things were indeed pretty slow. Now that he was a bit more at ease around Boss (when he wasn't pulling those awful pranks, at least. Something told him that he should never grow comfortable, or else Boss might use their ease around him to finally go through with his pranks and seriously hurt someone), he could spend more time with Red. That also meant a lot of time in bed and not at work. The best part? Blue couldn't complain about it. Not when Papyrus brought up "but what if Red needs something". He almost felt bad using Red's injury for his own reprieve, but said reprieve was pretty nice. And...he was pretty sure Red enjoyed his presence, too. 

It was about six o'clock in the morning; roughly fifteen minutes before Blue was scheduled to get up. Papyrus had taken to getting up earlier than Boss would. Even if the skeleton never did sleep like the other three did, so far it seems to have worked. That being said, this was his first attempt. His eyes blinked open, to see that Red's were open, too. A smile pulled at his lips. "Hey," he greeted, tone somewhat rough with sleep, and eyes hazy as well as half shut. "How are you feelin' this mornin'?" Forgot to mention that he also slurs a lot when he's sleepy. Easy to understand? Not really. Attractive as fuck? Depends on your tastes, but probably.

“Hey,” Red greeted, looking up at Papyrus with a small smile on his face. But it was quick to drop. “I feel good today, actually. Just still don’t feel like doing anything right now, either…heh, maybe it’s because it’s so early.” Papyrus nodded in agreement. Papyrus, before this point, wouldn't have expected himself being awake this early either. Usually his brother had it in his heart to not wake him up until at least 7:00, and even then Papyrus was slow and probably not completely up and moving until about an hour later. The tall skeleton was finally back in his orange hoodie, though. It had been mended and washed--oh, how much Blue had freaked out when he saw the DETERMINATION on it. Papyrus had said he spilled spaghetti sauce on his hoodie while having a midnight snack, and he'd had to throw away perfectly good spaghetti from the fridge to cover it up--but never lost the faint smell of cigarette smoke that seemed to be permanently embedded into the fabric. 

"I'm glad my magic has finally done it's work," Papyrus hummed, nuzzling Red as well when the other tucked up against him. One might think them lovers rather than just friends with how they lay now; a tangle of limbs, with their legs entwined and arms thrown over shoulders or waists. Not to mention all of the nuzzling, as if they were furry kittens. Though Papyrus was fairly certain he might have managed to acquire a small crush on the other skeleton, he had refused to act on it so far, dismissing it as being a result of being around Red so much. Besides, he couldn't do that to Red. They were fine like they were right now, and the smaller Underfell brother didn't need to worry about anyone other than himself. "You might be depressed?" Papyrus suggested, somewhat worriedly. Had he not been doing his job right? He had spent the last almost month and a half or so trying to make Red's visit as comfortable and cheerful as possible, in an attempt to make up for all of the past pain and hardship... 

Meanwhile, Blue was just beginning to stir from his sleep. Eyes opening, he was a bit slow to start, but once he got his battle body and newly-repaired bandana on (Papyrus had so much time off, that he’d decided to use some of his free time to help repair Blue’s outfit. His brother really was the greatest, even if he is a lazybones!) it was immediately his cheerful persona. "Another day!" He chirped, before bouncing to the door…  
...to get a bucket of water falling on his head. 

"Wowie, it suddenly got super dark!" He exclaimed, reaching up and trying to grab at the bucket. However, his gloves couldn't seem to get a grip on the metal. Chuckling nervously, he took off his gloves to try and get at it with his bare hands, but his bones had no traction, wielding much the same result. He cried out in distress, walking forward until he met the staircase, and stopping at the top. "Boss!" He cried, "help me get out of this thing!"


	10. Learning Experience and Relief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of things happen. Some in which spells out a bad omen for all four skeletons...and possibly, the entire underground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for taking so long to update, everyone! My laptop kinda...broke? It does this thing where the wifi doesn't work at home, only in other places, and I can't drive, so I can't just go wherever. I finally got around to updating while at the laundromat. Thus the chapter is a bit shorter than originally planned, as I do not want to loiter, and thus the "climax" for this act is going to be pushed off for _one more_ chapter. I promise it will be next time! Until then!

“I hope that’s not the problem,” Red replied with a soft sigh. “I think it’s just...everything, you know? After so many years being where I was, being here now is still taking some getting used to. But uhh, I don’t really want to talk about it either.” Red thought to himself that he might have collapsed under all of the emotional turmoil over the past couple months if Papyrus had not been there to help him out. He might or might not have developed a small crush on the laid-back skeleton in that time, but he’d never acted on it. How could anyone have feelings for a pathetic lazybones like him, who could hardly even take care of himself? He was better now, yes, but not exactly ideal dating material. Red is snapped from his thoughts by Papyrus nodding in understanding. 

"Well, that would make sense," Papyrus replied. "I did say something about you slowly becoming less numb, right? You could just be releasing all of the emotions you pent up without actively showing it, and it could be becoming depression." It was just a theory, but Papyrus was no doctor. "Does that seem to describe you right?" Red merely shrugged in response. “It doesn’t matter. But...Papyrus?” The skeleton in question grunted in response. “Thanks. For helping me. And taking me in. All that stuff.” He’d grumbled it, shy, because he had been such an asshole for only saying it now, but his ribs were practically good as new (save for the numerous scars) and his emotional state was notably better. He smiled, small, but a smile none-the-less.

The smile Red made towards Papyrus, the taller skeleton felt, could have lit up the whole Underground. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against the other's, a light 'clack' being the resulting sound. It might be just a little bit less platonic than the first one he'd given Red, but he didn't need to say this. Little did he know, the action was hurting himself just as much, if not moreso than it was hurting Red. "But...regardless. I'm glad that you're happier...thanks for accepting my help." Slowly, he sat up, rubbing at his eye sockets with his hoodie sleeves.

"I'm going to have a quick morning smoke...do you want to come with me?" That balcony rarely got used, after all, and it felt like today was going to be a good day. He determined this from the sound of a light commotion coming from outside the door, of course. Oh, boy...what would the prank be today? The pranks got more amateur and immature everyday...not that Papyrus was complaining, necessarily.

“Yeah, that sounds nice. But it depends on what you’re smoking.” Red grunted in response. Yeah, Mary Jane wasn’t an uncommon sight in the underground, though it was more expensive since it’s only found in the dump. More often you’d see someone smoking a dog treat. “Either way, getting out of the house for a little bit sounds like a good idea.” Red hasn’t left the house even once since arriving here, after all, and even though the place was cozy, it could get a little cramped sometimes.

He chuckled when Red asked without asking what kind of things he smokes. "Mostly just regular tobacco, but when things get super rough, I might slip a stick of weed. If you think you need a drag of the stronger stuff, lemme know, but it'll have to be when Blue isn't home. He's never found it, and I'd like to keep it that way." Man...if they walked out there high, who knows what would happen. He pointedly decided not to think about it. Honestly, Papyrus hadn't thought that he might accidentally come off as suggesting that Red smoke with him--he just wanted company. But if Red wanted a smoke, he couldn't stop him.

“Mm. Just the regular stuff sounds fine. But if it’s alright I’d like to try the stronger stuff later. I don’t get why your brother cares so much.” He untangled himself from Papyrus, sitting up and grimacing when he looked down at his jacket. It was still stained red. He hadn’t been able to change all this time because moving around enough to get changed risked seriously hurting him. He looked over at Papyrus, somewhat sheepishly. “Do you got something I can wear for now?” He asked, gesturing vaguely at his filthy clothes.

"He cares because he thinks it's bad, and for most Monsters, it is." Papyrus replied, slowly standing from bed and walking over to his dresser, pulling out a box of stashed cigarettes from under a small pile of pants. "I don't let it bother me too much. He doesn't understand that smoke literally goes right through me." He winked, then directed his gaze over to the closet before looking back at Red, shrugging. "You don't need to ask. Help yourself." Opening the box of cigarettes, he sticks one of them into his teeth and steps out onto the balcony attached to his room before lighting it, leaning on the guardrails. 

Boss was nearly in hysterics when he heard the sound of the bucket clattering against bone and the rush of water on the floor, crawling in a small wave down the stairs. He couldn’t believe the other couldn’t get the bucket off, and stalked up the stairs before coming to a stop in front of Blue. “And why should I help you?” He asked, a smirk on his face as he crossed his arms. Blue jolted, as if he hadn’t heard the other coming up. Was it really that muffled? His heels weren’t that subtle. Blue had ceased his attempts at grabbing the edges of the bucket when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs, his hands falling uselessly at his sides. He'd heard the footsteps, he just couldn’t distinguish which direction they were coming from when the sounds were bouncing off the metal walls of the bucket. “Because if I cannot get this bucket off of my head, The Magnificent Sans cannot be magnificent anymore!” He exclaimed. Boss rolled his eyes but reached down, grabbing at the corners of the bucket and lifting it with ease from the other’s head.

Blue blinked a couple of times to readjust to the sudden light. But then, suddenly, he spoke. "My savior!" He chirped, tackling the other skeleton in a hug, though being careful to not put in too much momentum, since they were at the edge of the staircase. But then the smaller skeleton stepped back, expression still bright, but pouting with the scolding voice he tended to use a lot. "It's not very nice to put things like that over people's doors, you know!" He chided. "Where did you even _find_ this?" He gestured to the bucket now resting lip-down on the stairwell, not knowing of the presence of a second one, and the similar fate that would likely meet their respective brothers.

Boss had nearly impaled Blue from behind when the other had suddenly tackled him in a hug, instincts identifying the gesture as a threat at first. He didn’t react, caught between grimacing and smirking, before Blue had backed off and scolded him. “I stole it from the back of the restaurant down the way. Muffet’s, I believe?” He hummed, innocently. “I would say that I took them out of the trash can, but then I would be lying, wouldn’t I? And whether it is a kind prank or not, it’s fuckin’ hilarious.” He leaned down, suddenly, to where he was at Blue’s height. In a quieter voice, he said, “oh, and by the way. You should probably get changed. You’re more wet than a female prostitute.”

Blue was about to demand that the other return the stolen property to Muffet's, but went an impossibly dark navy blue at his innuendo instead. Suddenly very self-conscious and robbed of his speech, Blue runs back into his bedroom, slamming the door shut maybe a bit harder than necessary. Well shoot! What was he supposed to wear? He couldn't just patrol around without his battle body! Otherwise he just looked like he was walking in circles, and that's weird!

Boss had cackled when the other had fled the room. He was so easy to fluster, it was perfect. He waited patiently for the other skeleton to reemerge, as today they were going to do some… _training._ For once, Boss was actually excited for something. It was a strange feeling, but the intentions he had caused him to smirk. He had learned in his time here that Alphys was the warrior instead of Undyne, and he planned to make it so Blue saw what he did in how ridiculous it was to train without malice. No blood, no glory, after all.

Blue had, of course, remembered the outing they were to have today after his patrols. So he tried to get on the second most "official" looking clothing he had. Fortunately he hadn't changed much in size in the last decade, so he was in luck! Even if it wasn't that official, in the end. He overall didn't own many clothes since he had his battle body, and any clothes that did look nice, weren't meant for excessive exercise. So when he emerged from his room again, he both felt and looked insecure. He wore a loose white t-shirt with a furred collar blue jacket thrown over it, and a pair of basketball shorts. On his feet were his house slippers that he might be caught wearing every now and again, accompanied by pristine white socks.

“Hmm. You certainly look different,” Boss said, his gaze sweeping over Blue’s frame. He looked a lot more relaxed, in such lazy day clothes. But he didn’t comment on it more, even if he thought that the other would be even easier to poke fun at in such clearly insecure clothes. “You going to drag me around on your patrols, or are you going to come and get me after you’re done?” He asked the shorter skeleton, browbone raised.

"Well, I wouldn't look so different if you hadn't been so childish!" Blue huffed, and when he moved to put his hands on his hips, they instead found themselves in the pockets of his jacket. His hands felt pretty naked without gloves anyways, so...he just kept them in there, averting his gaze as he started down the stairs, towards the door. "I'd like it if you came with, actually! Though if you want to stay, I can't force you to come with." Blue had already learned from experience that Boss wouldn't kill others (hopefully), but that didn't mean that he had to be nice. Or cooperative. Blue could understand that, even if he thought that it would be easier for everyone involved if Boss would just be nicer.

“I’m childish? You’re the one naming everyone after colors,” Boss said with a roll of his eyes and a scoff. “Fine. If you’re so mature, give me a nickname. And nothing fucking idiotic like Crimson. It’s too close to my disgrace of a brother.” The tallest skeleton pressed his gloved hands to his waist, frown on his face. “Also give me a believable background story to cover up the fact I’m from another timeline. Then I’ll go with you.”

Blue decided to not comment on the other questioning his childishness, and instead moves onto the next topic. "We could...call you Edge! And we don't have to tell them anything about your timeline, you know! We can just say you're staying here after moving away from the Capitol! Your clothes definitely look expensive enough. They could just handle to be..." He trails off to let off a sort of shriek of surprise when he's lifted up, beating on the other's arms to be let down, but being quickly hoisted onto the other's shoulders, where he wraps his arms firmly around Boss' skull, over his eyes. "Let me down!" He exclaimed. He'd never really been this high before, and the fear was quickly dissolving into mirth even as he spoke. His Papyrus had never been strong enough to carry him on his shoulders like this. He had always been more magical energy than physical, as Blue learned when the Underfell brothers first got here.

“Heh, no. You’re too short. We won’t get anywhere if I let you walk on your stubby legs.” Blue pouted. “By the way, just a suggestion. You should duck so that you don’t get hit on the head. Wouldn’t want a concussion, now would we?”

When Red was told to have at Papyrus’ wardrobe, he hesitated for a moment before getting out of the bed and walking over to the dresser. He sifts through the clothes for a little bit before he finds a tank top. Setting it on top of the dresser, he carefully slides his black jacket and bloodstained sweater from his frame, leaving his ribcage bare. He then slipped the tanktop over his head. It was loose and long on his frame, drooping down to where it revealed his clavicle, and it nearly reached his knees, but you know what? The fabric was the softest he’d ever felt, and he found himself nuzzling into it as he followed Papyrus onto the balcony.

When Red joins Papyrus, he's already holding an extra one. He hands it to Red without looking at him. He inhales the smoke of his cigarette, before letting it out in a puff that comes from more than one hole. A raspy chuckle, though it wasn't very mirthful. In fact, he sounded worried when he spoke next, "It's been awhile since there have been any RESETs..."

Red had stiffened at the mention of the RESETs as he pressed one of the cigarettes to his own teeth, taking a breath of it. “If there’s a RESET, I have a horrible feeling that Boss and I will get wiped from existence.” He mumbled, browbones furrowing. He removed the cigarette from his mouth, allowing it to smoke softly nestled between his index and middle fingers. “We’re not supposed to be here at all.” His gaze swept over Snowdin from the second story in which they stood. It was much warmer and more cozy than the Snowdin he knew from his universe. All of the homes were well-kept, and there weren’t warped wooden boards nailing doors shut or shattered windows hinting at vandilism. The windows weren’t murky, and he could see Monsters socializing in the snowy streets. For a moment he was angry. Angry that anyone got to live this luxuriously while he suffered back in his universe. But the anger quickly faded and instead turned into a sigh. He was here now, and so was Boss. He didn’t have to worry about going back. Papyrus had already asked him if he wanted to stay…

"I try to not think about it too much," Papyrus said. "Hopefully, if there is a RESET, you'll at worst be taken back to your own timeline..." Could being sent there be considered worse than eternal death? "...And find your way back here." He glanced up at the "sky", and the stalactites that hung from it, accompanied by some blue stone that could either be sapphires or aquamarines. "But that distortion in the space-time continuum hasn't regulated itself, which proves to be a concern...it leaves room for other timelines to intersect with each other, and I won't go into detail on how bad that is, because I'm sure you understand." He looked down from the roof of the underground, and instead at the snowbanks that had gathered below. "I have a series of theories...either your presence has somehow forced the RESETs to stop, whoever is doing the RESETs isn't here anymore," because the kid hadn't been here for several timelines, and it still RESET, "or someone, somehow, is fucking with them." Whatever the case, it has made it so his shortcuts have taken him to the wrong place more than once. Fortunately not to any other universes, but...

“Your brother must care for you a lot,” Red said, trying to change the conversation topic.  
"Yeah, and I care about him just as much." Papyrus replied. Unfortunately, Blue would never realize just how far this love went. But at the same time, perhaps it was for the best, because then it meant that nobody had to die. When the two of them were outside, Papyrus decided to look over and see what his friend had decided to wear. He chuckles at what he sees. "Ya look good, Red." And he meant it, even as his cheek bones dyed a slight orange as the shirt exposed the other's upper ribs and clavicle, as well as the spine, if he were to ogle, which he _certainly was not doing_ \--"looks like you're wearing a dress, but hey, who am I to judge." He shrugged and laughed softly, just poking fun at the other skeleton. He just hoped Red was wearing pants with those…

“Your clothes are just big on me,” Red grumbled with a slight roll of his eyes as he leaned up against the guardrails of the balcony. “Yeah, it looks like a dress. S’not gonna do anything bad.” He paused, observing the large shirt once more. “Heh, you know, I’ve never actually seen a dress before? Too casual where I come from.” He deflated for a moment, before shaking his head. “That’s not important anymore, though.” He was determined to not let his past bring him down. Not when he is where he is now, in a Universe where he didn’t have to look over his shoulder every few seconds.

"I've seen Monsters in dresses plenty...Muffet wears one everyday, since it's a part of her uniform. I've seen Undyne in one every now and again, but only in certain timelines. So yours isn't as much of a dress in the end as much as it is just a long strip of cloth hanging off of you, but...you still look nice in it." In fact, Papyrus thought to himself, Red would look good in any of his clothing. He quickly shook that thought away, however.

“Speaking of my timeline,” Red said, deciding to not respond to the other’s compliments for his sake, browbones furrowing in thought. He couldn’t afford to let himself hope. “Before I left, there was something strange happening. Monsters disappearing by the dozen within an hour’s time. Survivors claimed to see a shadow, and said it looked like me. The reprieve from the fear was nice, but no Monster kills like that, and I know it wasn’t the kid. They wouldn’t hurt a fly.” Papyrus nodded, agreeing. There had only been a couple of Genocide Timelines, and Papyrus knew that when those happened, Chara was being possessed by a malevolent spirit named Frisk. It had never been their fault. Not technically. “But I never want to go back to my timeline. Not having to worry about dying every time I step outside...it’s...nice.” He flicked his cigarette on the balcony, causing little flecks of flame to drop below, before being snuffed out in the snow banks. He stuck it back between his teeth, taking another drag.

"If they blamed it on you..." Papyrus thought. "It either wasn't the kid, or their fear distorted what they saw." He flicked his own cigarette, much like Red had, and a few sparks fall below before being snuffed out by the snow. "Let's hope that it's the latter...and that whoever it is, doesn't come here. Because whether we like it or not, there is a rift in the space-time continuum, and crossing over is very likely." He glances over at Red. "I haven't been taking shortcuts, and I know you have very little magic anyways, but I recommend you refrain from taking them either. None of us know what could be on the other side." Papyrus was a bit saddened to hear that Red would rather face death, but he'd been expecting it. That timeline was like punishment worse than death.

“There’s no possible way that it was the kid,” Red protested quickly. “Like I said, they couldn’t hurt a fly. Not to mention manage to kill Monsters instantly. They barely made it past the Ruins most of the time, and when they did, they never made it past Papyrus. He always killed them, every single time.” Red continued to munch on his cigarette, the rolled up paper crunching under his grip, sending more sparks below. He didn’t have blunted teeth, so he had to be careful to not burn them. “I just hope that whoever it is can’t find their way here. This timeline would get fucking wrecked. Everything is so peaceful.” Not to mention, Red had gotten quite attached to the place during his time spent in the Underswap skelebros’ house.

"Bo--Edge! Why do you have to be so violent with everything you say?" Blue chided, though wincing at the thought of him getting hit on the head by something so high up. He'd never had to worry about it before! And so, he reluctantly moves his hands, and shakily moves to instead grip at the other's ripped and tattered scarf, clutching it as if he thought he might fall a thousand feet were he to let go. "Let's just go on the patrol already!" A pause. "Who knows...maybe it'll be easier to spot a Human from up here! Muehehe!" And just like that, he begun to enjoy his spot perched and roosting on the other skeleton's shoulders.

“Because it’s true,” Edge replied smoothly, smirking. But as he headed out the door, he had a moment of mercy and ducked his head. Really, it would be more troublesome if he had the other pass out anyways. More of a hassle, when he really just wanted to get to what he planned to do. “Where to first?” He grumbled, looking partially over his shoulder up at the other skeleton, browbone raised.

Blue had tensed on Edge's shoulders when he made the threat, but was pleased to find that it was all empty. "You're becoming all bark and no bite," he teased, but then chuckled nervously. "Not that that's a bad thing! That's really good, actually!" Just what the three brothers wanted of Edge, in fact. He didn't want to jinx them all and make Edge kill another Monster to prove some sort of point.

“Don’t test your luck. If you keep this up, I will not be going easy on you during your training.” Edge growled, causing Blue to shrink back and wave his hands in front of him, in a gesture of, ‘that won’t be necessary!’. "No, you can't just say something like that!" Blue whined, but he knew that Edge could, and he knew that the other knew he knew. Wow, inception much? "You're super strong, and apparently I'm super not? We can't have something bad happening!" Of course, Blue was overall very nervously excited about the fight they would be having. He'd never had true hand-on-hand combat with someone before! Alphys had always said it was too dangerous! But he knew from Edge's various pranks that he had very high control over his magic. All of those bones nearly hitting him but retracting at the last second proved that! So despite the past danger and multiple instances of near-death the skeleton had put him through, he felt...safe? Wowie! He really had gotten Edge to be better, huh?

"Let's just go downstairs and see if Blue made it out alright. Usually he would have come to get us up." Papyrus finally concluded, snuffing out his cigarette and sticking it into his pocket, where it would be thrown out later. It didn't need to be said that if both Blue and Boss--newly named Edge, little to their knowing--were gone, they could get right into the carefully stashed Marijuana that he kept hidden deep in his closet.

The thoughts of getting high with his (best?) friend are completely interrupted when the sound of something shuffling and falling off of wood fills the space that would be his ears. Before he can even react, a bucket is falling seemingly from the ceiling and upon Papyrus. Unfortunately for him, it doesn't fall completely upside-down due to his height before it reaches him, and falls sideways upon his skull, knocking him to the ground with the weight. He was so dazed, he couldn't even call out his usual obscenities, as had become almost tradition more than reflex when he falls for Edge's pranks. No, it would be Edge that was fortunate he wasn't home, now. Because Papyrus knew he wouldn't be as mad later, looking back on it. It had been a pretty good prank, even if it was the oldest one in the book.

Red hadn’t been able to stop the laugh that bubbled from deep within his being. It was a horrible thing to laugh about, especially when the other could be seriously hurt, but to fall for something so simple--Red bets that Boss wished he had been there to see it. They--Red especially-- had always had a sick sense of humor. It was a given really, with where he came from. “A-are you okay?” He stammers between definitely-manly giggles, assisting the other to his feet. Papyrus grumbles agitatedly in response. Of course Red’s sick sense of humor had to be something from his universe, Papyrus mused as he tried to sit up, with partial success. No Monster around here would ever laugh at something like that. Well, at least, that’s what Papyrs hoped was the case.

Papyrus comes downstairs about fifteen minutes later, in a change of clothes (damn, he'd just gotten back into his hoodie...oh well) and with a bandage on the side of his head where it threatened to crack from the weight of the bucket of water. He wondered how much longer he could play the laziness card on Blue, with Red being all better, now. Walking into the kitchen, he looks over what they had. "No leftovers," he mused. "How's some NTT-Brand cereal sound, Red?"

Red was seated at the coffee table, tapping his phalanges gently on the pine surface. This table had seen so much in the past almost three months, including the near-murder of one of it’s temporary inhabitants. Since all of the arguments had subsided, the skelebros (native to the timeline, at least, Red had been too injured and Boss too stubborn) had taken the time to make repairs to the heavily damaged plaster from their first several spats. It would never be as it was before, but it was still home, and they were satisfied so long as there weren’t gaping holes, coated in ash and dusty plaster, embedded into the walls.

“I’m actually not very hungry,” Red replied, earlier mirth having simmered down to a neutral level as he continued drawing patterns into the wood.

"Not hungry?" Papyrus hummed, somewhat worriedly, as he grabbed the cereal out from the cabinet. Closing it, he goes to another cabinet to grab a bowl, and then a drawer for a spoon. "You're sure?" He asked as he poured himself some of the cereal, then filled it with milk. He joined Red at the table, sitting maybe a bit closer than necessary without realizing it. Why wasn't Red hungry? Was it the heavy conversation they'd been having previously? "Would you at least like some mustard?" He asked, after a moment. Condiments weren't all that filling, but at least it was something, and Papyrus learned that the other liked mustard just about as much as he liked honey, if not moreso.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Red replied with a casual and dismissive wave of his hand.  
“I’m used to only eating maybe once or twice a week, and my body is trying to adjust to the regular mealtimes. I’ll...get used to it eventually.” He had actually admitted to that. He was getting used to the idea of being in this universe, and that...terrified him. What if one moment he woke up, and this was all just an overly pleasant dream, or the mysterious circumstances in which he even found himself here repeated themselves? Then what? He didn’t think he’d be able to go back to the way things were. He’d...he’d go mad.

Red shook his head of the negative thought train. He’d worry about that only if it got to that point. “Mustard does sound pretty good though,” he relented, shuffling nervously. He knew that he could ask for things without penalty now, but there has been years worth of “grooming” that he was going against, now. “Thanks for uh, being so nice though.” He still didn’t understand why the skeleton brothers of this universe were being so kind to his brother and himself, but he figured that he might as well just appreciate it. He’d figured that by this point, there were no underhanded intentions...from anyone from this universe, really. The two brothers from the other universe were truly, genuinely safe.

Red walked over to the fridge, reaching in and extracting a bright yellow bottle, plucking at the cap before sipping on it and joining the other skeleton at the table. He knew that he could get it at this point without consequence, and knew that the brothers solely bought the mustard for him at this point.

Papyrus was saddened with Red's reasoning towards not being hungry, but it made sense and he decided to not go up against it. Forcing the other to eat would only make the other sick and damage their relationship, anyways. And so he munched away on his cereal, glad that Red was at least sipping on the mustard that the Underswap brothers were keen on keeping in high stock, much like the honey bottles. In fact, honey sounded pretty good right now. As he finished up his cereal, Papyrus got up to quickly retrieve a bottle of honey, sipping at it as if it were from a water bottle, though having to suck more, as the condiment was sticky.

"Yeah, you do say it a lot," Papyrus teased once he'd finally 'mustard' the will to pull his lips away from the honey's cap. Heh, he was funny. Mustard..."but you're welcome, Red. You don't need to wonder about what would have happened...just think about what's happening." Papyrus was pleased with the other skeleton's closeness, though made no move to press them any closer. That was something that was, in his mind, only appropriate in their bedroom. Them being in the same bed gave him an excuse. Then again, Papyrus thought...was it normal for friends to regularly sleep in the same bed together, curled up like two peas in a pod? Like...lovers? They had sleeping bags in the attic, and Edge didn't get the luxury of sleeping in the same bed as Blue...Papyrus decided to not think about it. So long as nobody brought it up, he didn't have to think about it, either.

“What is your style, anyways?” Edge grumbled, quirking a browbone at the much shorter skeleton. “You don’t seem like the type to fight at long range, and yet you are hardly built like a tank to take melee damage. You could get knocked over easily, and dusted in seconds in my universe.” The tallest skeleton really was talking more to himself, but he really couldn’t draw a conclusion himself, seeing as Blue was overall a ridiculously weak Monster in his eyes.

"Well, I actually am more of a physical skeleton than a magical one!" Blue explained, head turning this way and that, looking for a Human with the same undying zeal he did each day. "I'm not very fast or anything, you're right! But I'm pretty good at defense. With a polearm, I'm really good at blocking and staying upright!" Yeah so maybe he didn't lash out so much--his offensive attacks were pretty slow, but he and Alphys had been working on it! "So just give me one of those, and I'm ready to learn!" Man, he could hardly wait for his regular sweep of Snowdin to be over! He wanted to get right into the training part of the day!

“Well, you being a melee attacker makes my job much easier,” Edge mused aloud. “Though you seem more like you have the potential to be a truck than I do. I am more of a lay-it-on-thick with a high speed stat. Though I suppose I can accommodate my teaching style in favor of making you stronger in the best way possible. Does that sound like a plan?” The tallest skeleton had a plan brewing, and he was eager to put it into action. It would be too easy, really. The shorter seemed to crack under pressure easily, though his strong sense of morality might be tough to crack...still, his sharp teeth quirked upwards at the thought of a challenge. Everything had been so easy for the span of time that they had been here, a change of pace sounded quite welcome and familiar.

Blue beamed and shivered with excitement from his perch on Edge's shoulders, bones rattling. "Wowie, that all sounds so fun!" He exclaimed, as Blue has never felt the need to take combat seriously. "That sounds like the coolest plan ever! Let's do it!" He pumped a fist in the air, then paused before shyly tucking his hand back into the other's scarf. He was still perched upon the taller skeleton’s shoulders, trying to refocus his attention on their surroundings. They were on patrol after all, and it wouldn’t do to let a Human slip by (even though really he was more focused on the fact that everything looked so different from this height)! "Well, after the patrol of course."

“I don’t get why you even bother patrolling,” Edge grumbled, looking around as well. “Nobody is trying to murder anyone. It is too peaceful.” Still, he was a stickler for rules, despite the overall unruliness of his universe, and would not skip out on work. “Let us finish making the rounds quickly, so that we can get started. This is incredibly boring and anti-climatic.” He sighed as they approached the Ruins door. “You are capable of using the blue attack, correct?”

"Well..." Blue hummed, casting a glance in the direction of the Ruins. "I guess we can let it slide, but just for today! We can just make one round, and then continue later." He really, really wanted to learn how to be stronger, after all! Then he could be more powerful when the Human did get here, and it would be easier to catch them! Yeah, that sounded like a great idea! "Yeah, that's my special attack!" He chirped. "I even made a little line for it! But that's a surprise, okay?" A pause. "It takes awhile for me to charge it, though. I can't use it immediately."

Red was the most content that he had been awhile, sipping at his mustard without a care in the world. However, it was still strange--his body was acting funky now that he was actually given the opportunity to heal, and get the amount of food that he was supposed to get. “Hey, uh,” he begun, trying to gather his wits to make the suggestion. “Did you want to take a crack at smoking that _other_ stuff, since our brothers aren’t home?” It seemed like a good opportunity, but he was still having a hard time asking for things, even to this day. He was more comfortable when Papyrus made the suggestion and all he had to do was say yes. He was sure that the implication was obvious enough, however.

"Yeah, why not." Papyrus said, putting down his honey bottle. He sat there for a minute, eyes closed to allow himself to process the food a bit as it turned into pure energy. Maybe that's why Red's magic stores were so low? He ate so little, and when food was eaten, it converted into pure magical energy. If he hardly ate at all, then that would mean he wouldn't get much magic. Papyrus found he was saddened by the idea. Yeah, maybe smoking a blunt wouldn't be too bad right now. "You're getting good at asking for things." He pointed out, patting the other gently on the skull as he stood up. "You wouldn't do that at all at first." With this being said, he started towards the stairs. His hands dove for hoodie pockets to nestle away in, but only swept air. Awkwardly, they fell back to his sides as he climbed the stairs. 

Once at the top of the stairs, Papyrus was quick to go into his room, suddenly excited. He'd never gotten to smoke with someone else before, and it sounded a lot more fun with company. He digs in his closet, under a pile of clothes that have fallen from the hooks above (any clothes that were on the hangers had either never been worn or were put there by Blue in the rare occasions he came in the room), and underneath is a baggie of wrinkled leaves, and a wrap of paper. He opens the baggie and walks over to his bed, sitting down and getting to work on rolling two blunts.

“It feels wrong asking for things, still,” Red confessed. “I’m still gettin’ used to it.” As Papyrus worked on rolling the blunts, he watched carefully while he made his way over to the bed, sitting down on the edge of it beside Papyrus. He has smoked a few times in the past, but he still needed a bit of a refresher, since Papyrus had gotten pissed and beaten him pretty bad whenever he got caught. After awhile he had stopped, finding that the temporary release wasn’t really worth it. For the most part he had resorted to dog treats anyways--they were a dead giveaway, really, the smoke bright and turning multiple colors. All it took to get caught was Papyrus coming home a bit earlier than usual from work to lay it on thick on Red for both skipping work early and spending money on something “so useless and pathetic”.

 

"Well, you don't have to be immediately used to it...just ease yourself into it. You're making a lot of fast progress; don't rush yourself. I want you to be comfortable here." Papyrus said as he finished rolling up the two blunts, lighting one and handing it to Red before lighting his own and pinching it between his teeth, leaning back on his palms and closing his eyes, inhaling the slowly burning weed. Ah, yes...this was the stuff. He thought briefly that maybe they should go on the balcony again, so that the smell isn't left behind, but then vetoed the idea thinking that they would need to be somewhere sturdy when they lost their sobreity, and shouldn't risk being seen.

It wasn't long before Papyrus could feel himself loosening up. When his palms give out from under him from exhaustion of holding him up, he flops down and bounces lightly on the bed, making a noise that bordered on a giggle. "Hehe...I lost my balance," he mumbled, eyes falling half shut. He glanced over at Red, a lazy smile crawling on his face. "How'sit doing ya, Red?" He asked. "Feelin' better?" It would take awhile for him to start really slurring and acting funky, but it wasn't hard to tell that despite Papyrus smoking a lot, he wasn't anywhere near immune to the drug. Almost as if a part of him kept him just a smidgen sober in the event that his brother came home early, out of sheer willpower.

Chances were, if Blue and Edge didn't do the full patrol, that would end up the case.


	11. Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust - Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While the older brothers are getting "better acquainted", not-so-fresh things are brewing in the depths of Snowdin Forest...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW THIS CHAPTER!! IF IT IS NOT YOUR THING, THERE HAS BEEN A SETUP OF 6 ASTERISKS INDICATING BOTH THE BEGINNING AND THE END OF THE SECTION WHICH CONTAINS THE CONTENT! PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SKIP, BUT ALSO LOOK AT THE END NOTES, AS THERE IS AN IMPORTANT PLOT POINT IN IT! I understand that some people aren't into that kind of stuff, or may be triggered by it, so!
> 
> Warnings: LOOK AT THE TAGS! Sex while high, soul sex, soul mates, grinding/frottage/dry humping, ecto tongues, but no ecto-dicks (sorry). **HEAVY IMPLICATIONS OF RAPE AND ABUSE, BUT NO GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION!!**
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> PS: Jfc, this chapter is just over 10,000 words. Worked on it for three and a half hours. Hope you all actually enjoy my labor of love (and pain), haha.
> 
> EDIT: I have absolutely no experience with smoking weed whatsoever, but I tried my best to make it as accurate as possible! Forgive me!
> 
> This chapter has been beta read!

Red shrugged, and said casually, “‘s fine. I’ll get used to it eventually.” Smiling, already a bit more relaxed, Red accepted the lit blunt from Papyrus and pressed it to his mouth, breathing in deeply to take in much of the smoke. He then proceeded to blow it out in a cloud that caused him to smirk in an odd sort of satisfaction as the haze begun to descend. As Papyrus spread himself out on the bed, Red sauntered over to join him, leaning on the taller skeleton’s ribs and looking down at him with sockets half-lidded. “Feels amazing,” he told Papyrus, already considerably more laid-back compared to his usual high-strung, shy self. He was feeling more confident, too, and Red could get used to the empowered feeling. He took another drag, sighing it out with eye sockets falling shut as he continued to lean over Papyrus, as if without a care in the world.

Papyrus grumbled in protest when the other skeleton begun leaning on him, but soon found himself without the coordination to shove Red off of him. Even if he could, Papyrus' hazy mind whispered the long-denied realization, he wouldn't want to. He hesitated for a little while, as his sober side still had a spot in his mind. But as it begun to sink away as he warred with himself, the idea slowly started sounding less and less out-of-bounds. So his previously twitching hands slowly rose, as if taking the time to make sure that they were going to meet their mark, before wrapping around the other's back and carefully dragging him down so that Red was laying down on top of him. 

"'S good," he mumbled, rolling over and taking Red with him. "I got up...got up waaaay too early this mornin', bro..." A sigh that causes him to huff a breath of smoke, followed by another inhale that sends him farther from his sober, already lazy state of mind and closer to his completely loose, maybe a bit illogical self. "I didn't get'ta sleep with ya as long..." Sober or not, he did enjoy spending as much time as he could around Red laying down in the morning. There was no ignoring this fact--but that didn't mean he had to vocalise it. Hadn't even vocalised it now, at least not directly, as a little part of him continued to hold back.

Red let loose a breathy chuckle as he took another breath of the intoxicating drug, followed up by a happy sigh. He was glad that Papyrus hadn’t shoved him off, like the back of his mind had been expecting. That part of him had figured that Red’s confidence was over-the-top, and that he was overstepping a boundary that they shouldn’t be over-stepping. But he only felt that confidence swell as he was not rejected, nuzzling Papyrus when the other pulled him down onto him. He breathed Papyrus’ name in an unintentionally inappropriate fashion, though it seemed that he hadn’t noticed that he did so.

Suddenly, Red felt a swell of unexplainable emotion. “Yer just so amazin’,” he said, his coherence having also suddenly taken a nosedive. “You’ve giv’n me att’ntion...hel’ me close…” He hummed, rubbing his eyes and shifting as if to make his point realized. “Treat’d me like I w’s worth sm’thin’...” Red let his fingers trace upwards, grasping Papyrus’ shoulder as he was now hovering close to the other skeleton’s face. “Cn’t say I dun love ya for it…”

"All thin's you d'serve..." Papyrus replied. "Ya still are worth s'mth'n...I'll still hold ya close..." As he said this, he tugged Red closer, as if to prove his point. "'ll still give ya attn'tn..." His own hands rose to cup the other's cheek bones, as they got impossibly close. "N'I'd be lyin' if...I din' say I dun love ya, too..." He was about to close the distance, but suddenly a bolt of sanity rushed through him, and he backed away. "But...s'not okay fer me to love you like that...yer like...my brother, n'shit. And...we're high as fuck, 'n'm s'pposed to be carin'..." He trailed off as he tried to list off reasons why this wouldn't be okay, looking back up at Red with guilt and conflict alight in his eye sockets.

“How many attacks does it take for you to charge your blue attack?” Edge asked. He needed to figure out a more specific training style for Blue, if he was to make this work. “What are you best at defending at? Things like axes and polearms, or more like fireballs and acid magic?” Another pause. “Also, what’s your attack style? A more physical, or more magical approach?” He looked up to face Blue, awaiting the smallest skeleton’s response.

“It takes about six, maybe?" Blue guessed with a shrug. "I haven't really kept count!" Cue more thinking. "My weapon of choice would have to be a bone made of magic, long enough to be used as a polearm. Though you probably guessed that, huh? Staying in melee makes it really easy to keep my opponents from using magical abilities, but judging from my duels with Alphys, when we parry, she tends to overpower me..." Which is where Blue usually lost. But that was okay! It wasn't like it was a real fight, or anything.

Edge shifted a bit, only to smirk, eye sockets falling half-lidded in some sort of mischievous amusement. "Alright. Here, attack me as though I was threatening you within an inch of your life. Just like you would if you were in a real battle so I can understand where you could have room for improvement."

Blue's eyes widened at the sudden command, and he begun to heat up as he sputtered up a protest. "B-but! Just like that? N-no warm up or anything?" He hadn't taken into consideration the fact that you might not be able to warm up before combat. As he spoke, however, Blue faltered. "W-well, alright then..." He somehow manages to climb down from Edge's body, stepping back a bit and with a flick of his eye socket, his left eye came alive with a light blue as he summoned a long bone. It hovered briefly above him, before dropping into his hands. It trembled in his grip.

"Alright...here goes," Blue said, and just as Alphys taught him, he let out as ferocious a battle cry he could manage (though it was more adorable than menacing), charging at Edge with his polearm raised. However, his blow would have no force, and he'd likely miss anyways. Even in his duels with Alphys, it took him time to get immediately into the swing of things, puns aside. It would take him a few minutes to let go of his inhibitions and just attack without MERCY; something that Edge would be more familiar with.

Despite Edge being well acquainted with Blue’s character by this point, he was faintly surprised that Blue had hesitated like he had. Still, as the other came charging, Edge simply side-stepped out of the way, Blue flying past and taking, in Edge’s eyes, way too long to stop himself. In his universe, that would have been the perfect opportunity to run him through the back with one of his sharpened bones.

The first hit was an obvious miss, and the fact the other had simply side-stepped and made the dodge so easy caused the smaller skeleton to puff up. Determination welled up inside of him as he reared around and charged again, this time with more force than the last. He didn't want to come in full force, though! Not when Edge hadn't even summoned his own weapon yet! After missing the second time, he voiced his predicament. "You have to have a weapon out too!" He said, "or else I might hit you too hard!" He knew that Edge had more than enough HP to accommodate any damage he could deal, but that didn't make him feel any better.

Edge sighed, deciding against arguing. He summoned the weapon he’d used against Red a couple months ago, as well as in many of his pranks. A long red bone, blunt on one end and with a dull edge on the other (he didn’t actually want to hurt Blue, not like this at least). Blue had been somewhat intimidated by the other's weapon of choice. He'd seen them before--one of them had impaled Red, right through the spine, several months ago. It had also pinned Blue to the wall and stabbed him in the face when they'd first met. He tried, however, to not think much about his history as he attacked again. Edge easily side-stepped again, raising his bones to tap quickly at all the places he could have stabbed the smaller skeleton if this were a real conflict. “If you are going to continue with the barreling tank tactic, you need to find a way to defend your back.” Edge monologued, eye sockets narrowed. “Or at least position yourself to where I cannot reach your blind spot.” His words were quick but even, wanting to continue quickly and efficiently.

They didn't hurt, but the bones were as tender as bones could be, and they had taken Blue off guard. He grew flustered as he realized that Edge had again easily dodged and tapped him where he was vulnerable like a teacher adjusting a student's formation with a cane. Thinking for a moment, he grunted with the effort, but managed to conjure a sort of blue shield that hovered at his back. "Like this?" He asked, striking a pose, it shifting slightly with the movement to keep over the same spot.

“Exactly. Perfect,” Edge praised, though his words were dull. He was too lost in thought to put any sort of emotion into them. “You are too slow. We need to find a way to get your blue attack charged faster, so that you can keep me at least somewhat stationary. For now, perhaps try summoning something like bones around me. Perhaps even use one as a vaulting stick?” Blue didn’t look that acrobatic, but this was training after all. They were looking for ways to make Blue better. Better than Alphys could ever manage to help him.

"I..." Blue stuck his polearm in the ground, and attempted to heave himself up onto it. But it seemed he couldn't even get a good grip, let alone use the thing to heave himself towards Edge. "No," he admitted after a few tries, though he seemed like he didn't want to, even as the evidence sat in front of the two of them. "I can send some bones at you, but again, I'm more of a melee fighter anyways...and I know they won't hold you." Even Papyrus' bones hadn't held Edge for more than a day, so what would make his attempts any better?

“That’s fine, we’ll just work with what you’re used to.” Edge replied, a slight frown on his face. “Also, allow me to borrow your weapon, so that I may show you what I would do during an attack. I understand you are melee, but I think for now we should focus on buffing you up. Building you like a tank, so that you can dish hits and take them without being swatted aside like a pesky gnat.”

Blue had always wanted to be a tank! He would be better at it, anyways, since it seemed he wasn't built for speed. He just needed to get a higher HP stat; be capable of taking blows, as well as dish them out! And so he acted out a few of the moves Alphys had taught him; his favorite ones, at least. One of them was him running, jumping and performing a slash in a downward's arc. The second was him placing one foot in front of the other, leaning forward somewhat, and thrusting the head of his bone upwards where an imaginary jaw was, in a sort of uppercut. The third was a parry followed by a spin, where he carefully shifted the bone from hand to hand as it spun in quick circles, before he would suddenly grasp it in his hand and lash out from the side. After performing these attacks, he was left breathing a bit more heavily, handing the polearm to Edge.

Edge took the polearm from Blue, a mildly surprised expression on his face. So Blue did actually know some pretty good attacks. If Blue actually gave it his all rather than holding back all the time, he might actually be able to show Edge up in combat. But still, his skills could be honed. There would always be room for improvement. “Relax. Don’t work too hard.” He said. “We’re also going to have to build on your stamina. Good moves, but you need to not get so tuckered out by them. If your opponent were to dodge them, then you’d be done way too quickly.” He demonstrated a couple of his own moves, similar to Blue’s, but much less jerky and looking less exhausted afterwards, even adding his own spin to some of them.

"Wowie, that's so amazing, Edge!" Blue exclaimed giddily. He hadn't even thought to mix and match the moves! No Human could ever hope to anticipate that! And so, he managed to do the running leap and combine it with his downward slash, skipping the spin and instead twisting his body mid-air to aim for an imaginary waist. There was no body to bounce back against like wanted, so he unfortunately ended up laying on the ground with a loud 'whump!' and a crunch of snow. All is silent for a moment...before he suddenly shoots both hands in the air, curled into victory fists. "Another victory for the great, sensational Sans!" He exclaimed, cheering and hastily standing up.

Edge had to try hard to fight the smile that threatened to crack across his carefully neutral expression. Blue was truly so disgustingly adorable. Half of him felt like vomiting rainbows, and the other half felt like...well, giving in. But he stomped the latter creeping emotion into the snow in the form of him walking over to Blue. “Try going against me once more, now that you have warmed up some,” he told the other. Red energy gathered at his fingertips, before forming into an opaque and then solid pair of double bone glaives, much like the sword-like weapon he’d been wielding before, except shorter. He grinned darkly, hopping back several paces. He held one in front of him, ready to block, the other at his side already anticipating a counter-attack.

It was true; Blue wore his soul on his sleeve, figuratively speaking, and his unending enthusiasm could get through to seemingly the most hardened of souls. It was this endearing, unconditional trait that seemed to melt the coldest of hearts. It was also why when he was sad, or scared, that just looking at him could rip one to shreds and drown them in feelings. It was why he could be manipulative with his cuteness; he knew he was cute, but tried to not take advantage of it. At least, on anyone other than his brother. What? Sometimes, that lazybones just needed a push! 

"Okay!" Blue cheered, getting into a battle stance. He re-summoned his shield, but it remained on his back as rear protection; his polearm was to act as his weapon and front defense. Suddenly, with a scuff of his shoes, he was charging at Edge. With a battle cry he leapt up into the air, swinging down at Edge. At the same time, his left eye socket surged as he cast his special attack, turning the other Monster's soul blue with gravity magic. "Haha! You're blue now! That is my attack!" He exclaimed the "line" he'd been talking about earlier. It would seem the attack was finally charged enough for use.

******

 

Papyrus found that his will was rapidly vanishing when Red gave that grin of his, showing off that one sharp golden tooth as he advanced again like a hungry predator to their prey. When Red pushes himself into a kiss with Papyrus, the taller skeleton is still for only a moment before he reciprocates, conjuring a tongue of his own as their teeth click against each other. He didn't care if the kiss was weird or awkward, all he could think to describe it was "nice" in his suddenly greatly shortened vocabulary. His arms looped around the back of the other's neck, pulling Red as close as possible as a whine crawled up from his non-existent throat, cheek bones dying tangerine. But then his resolve came back, just a cry for help in the middle of a dark, pleasure-filled ocean. 

Papyrus pulled back from the kiss after a few long moments that seemed to stretch out for an eternity. He was breathing hard, despite the fact one might not think he needed air. "We sh'ld stop..." He mumbled, though he spoke as if his jaw were numb, as his words came heavily slurred. Even so, his soul wasn't in his words. He wanted this, but didn't know how to ask for it without feeling bad or like he was taking advantage of the other skeleton. For being high, for being emotionally unstable and taking it because he felt obligated for Papyrus' kindness...he wanted consent. True consent. But still, his resolve wavered, as his brain flew in several different directions.

Red was completely taken by the kiss. In his muddled thoughts, there wasn’t anything more perfect in the world...save for the mouth the kiss belonged to. His phalanges curled into the other’s shirt, pulling him closer. His tongue found it’s way curled around Papyrus’ own, searching around messily, but he couldn’t care less if drool of mixed orange and red trickled down his face. It took an immense amount of effort to sit back, observing his work. 

Though really he was the one that seemed to be more ruffled than Papyrus, despite them both being high off their asses. Still, he spoke, “I don’t wanna stop,” he whined, pressing a palm to the other’s sternum. “You don’ either...please jus’...jus’ c’mon, it ain’t hurtin’ nothin’.” He exhaled softly and let himself rest back down against Papyrus again, hips shifting closer to Papyrus’ own, and he felt like his soul would combust. He was so glad he was here right now, it was almost too much. “I wanna...be with ya,” he panted, eye sockets half-lidded. He didn’t know when he’d set his blunt aside, but it was burnt out on the nightstand, and he reached down to take Papyrus’ own out of his mouth.

As Papyrus sat there, considering his options, he thought that maybe it was a bad idea to have started smoking with Red afterall. But then he quickly chased the thought away. Maybe it was just what they needed to get over themselves and their silent pining for each other? But...what if this was just drug-induced...? 

Papyrus decided to stop thinking.

"Mnn..." Papyrus grunted incoherently as he leaned back forward, capturing Red in another searing kiss. Red was right, he didn't want to stop. For now, the other's words were consent enough for his drug-addled brain. At some point he'd rolled the two of them over so that Papyrus was on top. His soul emerged from his rib cage, throbbing and looking a bit melty as the once opaque, misty orange around his soul took on a more solid form. It searched for Red's own soul out of instinct, throbbing eagerly at things grew heated.

Red couldn’t get situated fast enough, once Papyrus finally seemed to let go of his inhibitions. Still, as Papyrus allowed his own soul to emerge, Red’s own automatically came out, pulsing with energy. It was dull, and the soul was smaller than usual, but carried a power unusual for a soul like his, even after all of the neglect and malnutrition he’d gone through. Perhaps it was becoming stronger due to the nature of the place he’s been living for all this time. But that wasn’t currently on either skeleton’s thoughts, Red’s cheekbones flushed a deep crimson and eyes hazy with budding lust. 

Red’s tongue stuck out, dripping magic as his hand reached up to curl his phalanges around the two souls. A moan escaped him, uncontrolled, as he let his thumbs press into the reluctantly solid substance, it giving somewhat under his pressure. But the touch was gentle, and it sent jolts of uncontrollable pleasure shooting up and down both of their spines. Red’s toes curled as he pressed himself as close to papyrus as he could possibly manage, unable to control the sounds he made. He was desperate for more friction, and even seemed somewhat experienced with what he was doing, arching somewhat into the other’s touch.

Meanwhile, Papyrus seemed to be the more quiet type during this sort of activity, muted moans, gasps and grunts slipping through him but otherwise quiet. He supposed it came from years of stifling himself while living in the same house as his brother, while Red, (un?)fortunately, had no such inhibitions. His soul merged with Red's, tangerine and crimson merging to become a sunset red-orange and bursting with color, static like electricity and sparks that seemed to fall from it like the flakes of flame from his cigarettes. 

Papyrus' moans and gasps dissolved, leaving behind only his grunts and the occasional growl as his body begun taking action from the pleasure. His hips began gyrating downwards, hands seeming to be in a state of indecision as whether to grab Red's face to make out, or grab the other's clothed pelvis and push him down for more friction. He ends up choosing the latter, though he does force his tongue back into the other's mouth, trying to give and get as much sensation as possible.

Red, in contrast to Papyrus, was anything but quiet, loud and needy. After having been forced into acts like this before, this was completely different. He was too high to be scared, and cared for Papyrus too much. He felt loved, he wanted this. The sensations were overwhelming rather than painful and terrifying, and he loved it. Red realized that he was desperate for this touch, becoming more and more so by the minute. Red found himself rocking his hips up to meet Papyrus’ own, the feelings that came with it shaking him to his core in the best of ways. Tears found their way in the corners of his eye sockets, but not in a bad way. He felt so, so hot, absolutely everywhere, as he continued to rock his hips.

"Y..." Papyrus tried to speak around his and Red's tongues, but chuckled grossly when he found that he couldn't, their saliva getting all over the place before he backed up a bit. Still, Papyrus ground against the other skeleton as he tried speaking again. "You've...done this b'fore," he'd meant it to be a question rather than an assumption, but unfortunately speech was hard enough for him. He'd fooled around with Muffet once, but he had been completely hammered and she having some personal problems. On top of that, their souls didn't match up, and he had no other way to "mate" with her, as she'd put it. They'd decided after that that just staying friends was the best option. He was, needless to say, very inexperienced in comparison to Red. 

Papyrus' breathing came ragged as he grasped the other skeleton's side, gently flipping him over and beginning to thrust down with wild abandon on the other's backside. He stuffed his head into the back space between Red's neck and shoulder, which made it more obvious just how wrecked he was, breathing heavily. They may not have dicks, but Papyrus was starting to get annoyed with all of the clothes in the way. His soul sparked with the added heat of his frustration, from where it mingled with Red's, so close together they might as well have just become one soul.

During soul mingling, a Monster gave their strengths and weaknesses to each other. Two Monsters became in sync with each other's emotions, and sometimes even got bits and pieces of memories, both good and bad. That was why it was so rare, and most of the time Monsters were incompatible--so to see the two souls as one was a big thing. The fact that they hadn't avoided each other like two magnets facing each other on the same side was more significant than they could have ever hoped to realize while high as they were.

Red didn’t really know if he wanted Papyrus to see his memories, if he were truly honest with himself. He seemed to tense somewhat the other’s half-inquiry, half-assumption that he had done this before. It was obvious, really, but he felt guilty, as if having been caught cheating on your lover. He’d done it...several times actually, more than several times, even if it had never felt good. Gone against his will. He was always in agony afterwards, shivering and trembling, sobbing...he forced the thoughts from his head, not wanting to think about it. The memory was fading, fortunately, but he hardly reacted as he was flipped over. He could feel it all, wearing only the tank top and a pair of boxers.

Red had had no idea that this could feel so amazing, and realized now why people wanted it so much. He could beg for this, he realized, as he found himself mindlessly grinding back against the other’s constant thrusts against his backside, panting desperate and face smushed into a pillow, muffling his desperate cries. Red had no clue what memories the other was getting from him, and the ones he was getting back. But perhaps they’d remember and be able to look back on them again when they woke up...sober. The thought both made him curious and made him afraid, because if he remembered, Papyrus probably would, too.

Papyrus had indeed caught the little snippets of memories the other had, and they had caused a stutter in his rhythmic rocking before it had faded as quickly as it came. This was because he was attacking it with his own memories; things from a snowball fight he'd had with Blue back when he was a babybones, to when he was just laying down cuddled up to Red's side in their now shared bedroom. 

"You dun d'srve that," Papyrus grunted, having felt the emotions of fear, anger, and distress, cutting through his pleasure like a hot knife through butter. "Yer fuckin'...fuckin' be'ut'ful, 'n strng...'n a god...good br'ther." He attacked the negativity with the ferocity of his own emotions towards the other Monsters. In addition to being very personal, Soul Mingling was often very emotional, which was why most of the time Monsters didn't do it the first time they had sex. But they hadn't initially counted on having it in the first place. 

Soul Mingling was also something that was considered a Monster's virginity, in this universe. They had just given it to each other.

Red sighed, shakily, as Papyrus’ emotions washed over him. While he had his own small moments of happiness (once few and far, now becoming more common since his time spent in this universe), Papyrus seemed so constantly content, and the feeling he got was obviously so much better than what he was giving to Papyrus, due to their difference in emotional stability. He shuddered and then went limp under the other’s ministrations. Red had so much fear packed into his soul, it was ridiculous. He was scared of everything, even if he didn’t show it, even after all this time spent in the universe he was in. Still, he listened to what Papyrus had to say, trying to not get lost too deep in his thoughts. He felt completely and utterly overwhelmed.

Indeed, Papyrus tried to keep things positive when sharing himself with Red, but when Soul Mingling, you had little to no input in what you shared with your partner. And so, there was the undeniable occasional flicker of his anxieties; memories of Frisk possessing Chara in the golden corridor, or of Blue turning to dust in the outskirts of Snowdin. The sorrow, shock, rage, and vengeance that came with the memories. Monsters in this universe were made of positive magic, but no Monster was ever without bad memories or emotions. 

There was a sudden spike in their connection, and it was so powerful that it caused Papyrus to jolt as if he'd been shocked. Another stutter in his rhythm before he resumes thrusting again, faster, and aiming the best he could but more sloppily towards the other's pubis to try and give more sensation than just simple friction to the other. He didn't want it to be one-sided, after all; this was just as much for Red as it was for Papyrus, unlike the former's past experiences.

Everything was becoming quickly more and more overwhelming for Red, if he were honest with himself. His dark memories kept being sent over to Papyrus against his will, from RESETs upon RESETs ago when his brother had first turned horrible to him, hurting him to tears over and over again until he became a numb sort of used to the pain, often curled up in the corner of his bedroom, not wanting to leave. All the times that he had been dusted by his emotions, or his brother himself. All the times that the Human came through, just wanting to help, only to die at Red’s own hands. He felt terrible, looking back on it. Seeing their pained apology as he turned them to smithereens with his Gaster Blasters, before collapsing in the snow spent of all his energy.

Red didn’t know that the memories he was reliving was being passed over to Papyrus. He simply figured that his mind was somehow managing to wander, despite his brain feeling completely filled to the brim with the pleasure his new mate was giving him. He panted and mewled desperately, grinding just short of frantic into the aforementioned skeleton. He twisted his head around, pulling Papyrus into another heated kiss, hands wanting to roam but being forced to hold his weight. He was practically all over the place.

Papyrus felt himself flipping the two of them over again to where Red was on top while they resumed making out. Instinct dictated that since Red had been put in a situation where he wasn't allowed to have a say before, that he should have some control here. An orange tongue again mingled with red, messily painting both of their faces with the colors of their mutual happiness. 

Their souls, once a beautiful landscape of the time before twilight, were losing their shape as things got nearer and nearer to the peak. Growing more and more melty than ever before, glowing brighter than thought possible. He looped his legs around the other's pelvis tight, giving them both the delicious friction they'd been seeking the entire time. They seemed to lock together perfectly, and Papyrus felt things begin to grow more and more pleasuring, until it bordered on painful. Closer and closer yet he grew, their souls seemed to be falling apart like melted ice cream, and yet on the verge of exploding... 

A shower of sparks emerging from their combined souls signifies the taller skeleton's completion.

Red wouldn’t admit it, but he was secretly pleased that he was being given more control over the situation. He hadn’t thought he could feel any safer until then, despite his thoughts that seemed to be plaguing him throughout their intimacy. The new position finally allowed his hands to wander, but they found their way curled around Papyrus’ ribs, shoved under the shirt that had never been taken off. He gasped when he felt the other’s legs wrap around his pelvis, but it only allowed better access as he worked himself more and more frantically against Papyrus, hips gyrating at a pace he hadn’t thought he could manage. He was just short of desperate as he felt something curling quickly inside of him, getting stronger and stronger.

Red was so loud, he wouldn’t really be surprised if someone would hear him. But not Papyrus, because the taller skeleton was just so damned quiet. His breathing was labored, yes, but Red’s jaw practically unhinged with the lewd cries he constantly let slip past his teeth, filling the air around them with a crackling tension that just seemed to grow greater and greater by the moment. It came so suddenly, Red threw his head back and gasped, his own soul sparking and body trembling, bones rattling as a thin strand of reddish transluscent saliva dribbled down his chin. He, too, had reached his peak.

 

Papyrus' chest heaved as he rode out his orgasm, and then came down from his high. He was breathing a lot heavier than Red, despite having been quieter, because he'd been stifling his moans the entire time. Quite possibly the loudest noise he'd made the entire time was a long, hushed moan when he'd came. With an affectionate nuzzle to the other's temple, Papyrus rose up shaky hands and tugged Red down on top of him. It made catching up on his breathing a bit more difficult, but he felt like he could die happy in that moment as the afterglow set in. His soul slowly separated from Red's, little strings of magic stretching like cheese as they separated before snapping, and the souls returned to their respective chests.

"Red..." He mumbled, feeling his consciousness waver. He needed to sleep this off--that was the greatest workout he'd gotten in a long, long time; not to mention, he was still high as fuck, and that mixed with what they'd just been doing made him, all puns aside, absolutely bone tired. He yawned, flipping them so that they were both on their sides. Papyrus snuggled the other skeleton close to him. "L'v yew..." He murmured, hardly audible.

Red had never felt this fantastic before. It was no exaggeration, even though it might sound like it. If you had told him three months ago that he would end up in a situation like this with an alternate version of his brother, he would have laughed, spat in your face, and maybe ground you to dust (not really, he wasn’t the violent sort), before turning and walking away.

Still, he also felt the weight of sleep weighing down on him, and it looked like Papyrus was already out. A small part of him worried that this encounter was going to ruin their relationship later, but he was too tired and high to worry about it properly at the time being. He felt tears in the corners of his eyes once again as he drawled (more like slurred) out an, “I love ya, too,” before finally settling down. His eye sockets fluttered shut as he descended into sleep.

******

Even knowing what the Blue Attack was, Edge hadn’t been expecting Blue to so effortlessly force him to the ground like he was. Still, he was able to bring his glaives up to dodge any additional attacks, inching over to Blue like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, footfalls heavy. But quickly he swung his dual weapons, in two different directions, wanting to test Blue’s reaction times. Moving around in itself was slowed by the attack, but basic arm movements were hardly hindered.

Blue was honestly surprised when Edge managed to parry his attack. He'd not even planned on using his special attack until the last second! How could the other have possibly been ready for it? Goes to say that he had a lot to learn! He was suddenly struck in the chest by the (blunt, fortunately) end of one of Edge's daggers, but barely manages to parry the second one. He felt his health bar go from twenty to nineteen--he'd never lost any health in practice combat before! But fortunately it wasn't too much, so he wasn't immediately worried. He really should raise his defense stat--then it wouldn't be so much of a problem!

“Going to have to work on your defending,” Edge murmured as he took a defensive, precautionary step backwards. He wasn’t used to turn-based combat, but he knew that it was how things went here, and the magic of the Underground prevented any deviation from the rules. He still planned to stop once Blue lost a fourth of his health, as he didn’t want the other too weak (it would only bite him in the non-existant ass after all, the other version of him was still ridiculously over-protective). They had a lot of work to do. Inwardly, Edge wondered what it would be like to go against Alphys. Would she be a formidable opponent? Blue always spoke so highly of her. But if this was the product of her training, she couldn’t be that tough.

Blue couldn't imagine a world where turn-based combat didn't exist! How could it possibly be fair to just lay it on someone without letting them get a word--or in that case, an attack--in edgewise? But regardless, Blue was glad that Edge was humoring his universe' unspoken traditions (not knowing that the taller really didn’t have a choice either way), as he stepped back and took a moment to catch his breath. "Well, if you want to work on my defense..." He gestured to himself, grin widening. "Come get me, and we'll see how we do!" Unlike before, he knew that Edge wasn't going to kill him this time. Even if he took a bit of damage, he trusted the other skeleton now, and unlike seemingly so long ago, he knew that his trust wasn't misplaced, and he could rely on the other skeleton to not use or lie to him.

But little to Blue’s knowledge of his old Universe, when you’re fighting for your life, there is simply no such thing as fair. He stood upright, not even the slightest bit winded from their workout. They’d have to do some actual endurance training on Blue, as well. He got tuckered out too easily, as already previously established. But Blue wanted to work on defense first, it seemed, so Edge would humor him for now. Still, he wasn’t going to make it easy. A smirk was the other’s only warning before he suddenly lunged forward. One glaive appeared to be coming from one direction, while the other in the opposite hand came from the other. Really, it wasn’t hard to get an attack in on Blue. So they would have to practice raising his defense stat if they were going to get anywhere with this. If you couldn’t get better at one thing, move onto the next best.

Blue had been expecting Edge to be coming at him quickly, seeing as he'd been the one to taunt, but he still had to get used to the other skeleton's speed. The only thing he could think to do was his spin, twirling his bone as fast as he could. When Edge's bone made contact, the twirling bone managed to block it. However, it shattered upon contact, and sent both skeletons backwards, Blue skidding a couple of feet before he summoned another bone. "Wow! That was a really powerful strike!" He said, eyes wide. If it had gotten much harder, his arms may have been stunned with recoil. 

Blue wouldn't have been able to stop both hits hitting him if he hadn't done the move he had, and even so he found that it had been very hard. He didn't want to get repetitious and predictable, but he didn't really know how to defend himself when Edge came at him with such ferocious, double-target attacks. But still, he would not give up! 

"Try again, Edge!" He cheered, as if someone in a sideline audience rather than the one being attacked with no MERCY. He was having fun! Even if it was quickly tiring him out. How was Edge coping so well with his blue attack? He'd never seen anyone go fast while they were under the influence of gravity magic--but maybe that was because he didn't use it on much of anyone? Maybe his blue attack wasn't as spectacular as he thought...? 

Nah, of course not!

If Edge were honest, the gravity magic was Hell to go up against. He was used to jumping and spinning around in the air with grace, the only other Monster knowing how to use blue attacks being his brother, whom never dared raise a finger towards him. So perhaps he should have spoken for himself when telling Blue that they needed to adjust the regimen to accommodate his own personal skills. It seemed that Edge, himself, was learning some out of this training session. Still, he refused to lose. He couldn’t stop the gasp if he tried when he felt the bones in his grasp get knocked away, disintegrating with the force of Blue’s blow, his concentration briefly shattering with the surprise. Really, he shouldn’t be taken so off guard, but he hadn’t been expecting such finesse from such a...well, such a _blueberry._ “Goddamn,” he breathed, summoning another replacement glaive into his grip.

Still, Edge smirked as Blue taunted him, charging forward with all the speed he could muster. He appeared as if he was coming from one direction, before swiftly darting to the side and attacking on the other, tapping his dagger on the other’s shoulder. It hardly did anything, as he didn’t want this to end too quickly. He planned to keep his word on ending this when the other reached one fourth of his total HP. But his light tapping ended up becoming a somewhat gentle thwack, and Blue was now sitting at eighteen. Coordination was a bitch when you’re being weighed down like a rock.

 

It seemed Edge was good at hiding his overall tiredness from Blue, though the smaller skeleton hadn't failed to notice the other's slight exhaustion, as he himself was pretty tired. He felt pretty proud of himself when he'd destroyed the other's weapon with his spin, and was too hyped up at the moment to scold the other for his profanity, however slight. After all, he'd managed to get it out of Edge by proving to be a challenge! That proved that he wasn't completely useless! But the question was--was Edge taking it easy on him, or going all out? That was the mystery.

Blue had raised his polearm once again when Edge came charging, but couldn't have anticipated the sudden side-step and stumbled to block, only to find the bone lightly grazing his shoulders. He swung around as Edge made a pass, swinging his polearm like a baseball bat towards the other's vulnerable backside. Now that Edge had pointed out that making passes was a reckless move earlier in their training, he was keenly aware of it, and was trying to aim for any opportunity he could. Blue had to prove to Edge that he was strong!

Really, Edge was taking it easy on Blue. Usually, he would be relentless, coming from this way and that and landing blow after relentless blow on his opponent. But that didn’t mean that Blue wasn’t actually putting up a pretty good fight. Edge looked forward to the day that they might be able to fight on equal grounds, each giving it their all. But now Edge was trying hard to not accidentally hurt Blue too badly, and despite knowing the reason why, a part of him still wondered why he cared. It was training, not a battle to the death like he had once been used to.

There was a sudden swing at his back, but Edge was able to heave himself off the ground with his weapon, doing a flip midair and landing in front of Blue, bone dagger pressed to the other’s front cervical vertebrae. Despite the applaud-worthy twist in air, the gravity was still having a heavy effect on Edge, and he was panting heavily as he stood there, sweat beading at his temple. His eyes narrowed as he said, “nice try.”

Blue had thought that he had Edge cornered when he'd swung his bone, and was somewhat disappointed when the other skeleton managed to avoid it without error. That was hardly fair! He just supposed he had more to learn, and when the other put the dagger to his throat, his bone dissipated and he put his hands in the air. He contemplated doing a sweep, but knew that if this were true combat he would already be dead, and so doing so would be foul play. "I yield, I yield," he said, though seemed hesitant. Beaten again! 

"You're really good," Blue complimented, taking a couple steps back from the bone that threatened him, too close to his vitally important cervical vertebrae for him to be anywhere near comfortable, a mock fight or not. "How high actually _is_ your LV, Edge?" He asked, a bit nervously. It was possible to raise stats without actually killing any Monsters, but it was a lot harder, and often more ineffective. There was a chance that he would never be as good as Edge. But he still had to try!

Edge was grinning, allowing his arm to fall to his side once the other admitted loss and surrendered. He chuckled darkly, unable to help doing so. All bones that had been used in their combat were thrown by his magic like spears into a nearby tree, impaling the bark and causing snow to rain from the branches before disappearing into shards of glitter-like red magic. It was purely for show, but Edge still felt satisfaction at the harsh holes and dents left behind. He observed Blue, thinking. He didn’t have to show MERCY, just now. He could have turned the mock fight into a real one, performed a betrayal kill...Blue would have been free EXP. Why had he been holding back? Edge simply didn’t understand.

“You weren’t bad, almost caught me off guard there,” Edge reluctantly praised, casting Blue a side-glance and smirking. “My LV is at fifteen. One more kill, and it will go up.” He seemed proud, and reveled in the expression that it drew out of Blue. The other would have to simply grow to accept the fact that Edge would never, truly, lose his vile humor and violent tendencies. “Bet if I offed you, I’d be there,” he said, passively. “Perhaps you could train your own LV, Blue. Think about how strong you could be…”

Blue was flattered by the praise Edge gave him, even if it was vague and could hardly be considered as such. It was true, he had almost caught Edge in his mistake! But his default light blue tinted cheek bones visibly paled to his skull's white when Edge shared his LV. That was really, really high! How many Monsters was that? He found that he'd rather not know the answer to that. Edge was almost capped, and he found that he was both unsurprised and completely shocked. 

When Edge suggested that he try killing to raise his LV as well, he rapidly shook his head, so hard he thought that he might end up twisting his head the wrong way. "I would be strong, but attacking and killing others for sport, or even at all, isn't right!" He exclaimed, looking a bit shaken. "I could never attack someone like that." In fact, he would probably not be able to muster the ability to attack someone even if he was attacked first, as he had never done so even when Edge had lashed out on him in the past. 

"I can raise my stats without violence." He told the other. "That's why we're training right now, after all!" He knew that Edge would never get completely better from the idea of attacking other Monsters, and was not nearly as violent as he used to be, but he was still bothered by the idea of any violence whatsoever.

“You’re never going to get strong enough if you don’t increase your LV by at least one,” Edge pressed. What was he doing? “Don’t you remember how the Monsters got locked Underground in the first place? They were soft, and wouldn’t fight back. Even when they did, they weren’t strong enough to kill even one Human. Nothing’s changed. How do you plan to go against that? Something that’s so keen on threatening all of Monsterkind?” He grunted and crossed his arms, rolling his red eyelights before they faded into the darkness. He preferred it when his eyes were dark voids, it was more intimidating, but they had been alight with his underlying excitement from earlier while they were sparring. It had been a long time since he was able to stretch his bones likes that.

"Whatever, I can't make you do anything. Even if I want you to be stronger. How do you usually train otherwise without LV? I'm sure Alphys, that one chick you spoke about has some sort of LV, too. Don't you punish the monsters who do bad around here? Someone around here has to execute them." He said the last part mostly to himself, moving to lean against the trunk of a tree.

Blue suddenly felt very under pressure as Edge continued on about him gaining LV. He felt a very ugly, almost _curious_ feeling wash over him for the briefest of moments before he hastily shrugged it off. No, he could never hurt anyone! It wasn't right! 

__"I can get stronger without hurting anyone," he insisted. "And...I think everyone has a little good in themselves, no matter how high their LV is. You were really far gone, but I got you to be better, right? I believe you can talk yourself out of such situations..." Little did he know just how many times that philosophy had gotten him killed._ _

__"No Monsters really cause trouble around here," he said, "maybe a little argument here and there, but no Monsters have really outright killed each other! I don't think any sort of execution has happened since we were trapped down here by the Barrier. Things were very different!" Tensions had been high in the times of war, after all. Blue didn't know what to say about Alphys, though._ _

__He'd never asked her about her LV, because though she was a bit brutal, she had never been outright violent towards him. Plus it was kind of rude. But she had never told him that she in fact did have a little LV; being captain of the royal guard, it was her duty to kill Humans and bring their souls to Queen Toriel. She'd never told him about the grueling task, however._ _

__“Ugh, I forget everyone is so disgustingly nice around here. Fucking _weird._ ” Edge grumbled. “How are you going to even hope to face the Human, then? What if _they_ have LV? Then what? You are all going to die.” He was upset, and though he understood Blue’s strong moral compass, why couldn’t he just try? He became even more annoyed as Blue spoke to him as if he were a kind Monster now, too. “Listen, not everyone is good. Stop thinking about it that way,” he said, sockets narrowed._ _

__“I’m still an awful Monster. I’m violent, and you would be a fool to ever put your trust in me.” He informed the other, without any remorse. He may be trying to play a game with Blue, one that he hasn’t shared, but that didn’t make him afraid to admit the fact that yes, he was bad, and yes, he would kill any other Monster without a moment’s notice if they so much as looked at him for too long. There was nothing stopping him, not really. “You are going to get yourself killed if you keep looking at the world like that. Undoubtedly there are Monsters down here with some semblance of LV.”_ _

__

__Blue refused to believe that there was not good in everyone. No matter what Edge said, his belief, as far as he knew, had not failed him yet. He couldn't imagine someone having a higher LV than Edge, anyways, even if it was technically possible to be higher. So if a Human had LV, they may still be stronger than Blue overall, but at least he would have his own training at his side to help!_ _

__"Oh...well," he fumbled with his fingers. "Muehehe, I think it's a bit late for that." He trusted the other more than Edge could ever want him to. "You...you wouldn't hurt me though, right? We're past that aren't we?" His tone was a bit worried, but hopeful, and he trusted Edge to be honest with him. The other seemed to have absolutely no filter, after all! Even if that made him immensely mean sometimes, it made trusting the other's word a lot easier._ _

__“I am not going to promise that I won’t hurt you. That is what a high LV does to you,” Edge replied, tone curt and expression hard. “But that is also why I don’t expect you to get a high LV. Just enough EXP to help you get by.” He sneered. “High LV makes you go fucking nuts. I’m personally surprised I haven’t completely lost it yet.” Even if he has come close, many times so far. It seemed that it had settled down in the calm atmosphere lately, but their sparring had caused it to spike, and like a virus it wanted to spread. Make Blue just as bad as he was. He felt a curl of disgust deep inside him, despite the fact that at the same time, the idea of seeing what it would do to such a pure soul was a delicious thought. To corrupt something so innocent...it would be quite the accomplishment, wouldn’t it?_ _

__“Regardless, you shouldn’t trust me. I am nothing but bad news for you, and it’ll only get worse if you do that.” He’d already tried to get Blue to give up on trying to make him better, many times. But it seemed that the other was determined. But that wouldn’t stop him from insisting that this was simply the way he was, now. Suddenly he flicked his fingertips and bones erupted from the earth, mere millimeters away from grazing Blue’s own bones. He smirked at the sight. It was still fun scaring Blue; he was so...helpless. Even if he had exerted some show of strength during their sparring match earlier._ _

__Blue was disappointed by Edge's words, but nodded in understanding. He tried to trust the other less, but found that he was having a hard time doing so. He jumped back with a yelp when the bones came so close to him, eye sockets blowing wide. He stands there for a moment, looking at the bones that surrounded him, before jumping as high as he could over them, closer to Edge. He ran over to close the distance, throwing his arms around the other skeleton and pressing his face into the other's--admittedly intimidating--battle body._ _

__"Well, we're still friends." He said. "That's a big reason why I don't want LV...I don't want to forget control and how to love everyone." He giggled and looked up at the other. "Do I look like someone that has any room for hate...?" He slowly stepped back, shaking his head._ _

__Edge went rigid when he was suddenly yanked into the hug, sighing but lifting a hand to lightly and awkwardly pat the back of Blue’s head. He hadn’t been expecting the contact, but the gesture was nice. He stepped back and crouched down, hoisting Blue up and resting the other on his shoulders once more. “You are capable of hate, you just don’t show it,” Edge insisted. “You’re too nice. But you’re also crazy, in a way that can be altered. I’m not sure I have the patience to continue trying to raise your stats in such a slow and inefficient manner, but I will try.” He went on with a series of mumbled strategies as to how to make up for his weak points, before it steadily trailed off into something unintelligible._ _

__It wasn't a true hug yet, but at least Edge wasn't shoving him away and impaling him on one of those red, razor-sharp bones. The pat on the head was better than nothing, and he felt pretty good about it as he backed away. Edge could deny it, but he really was notably better than he had been three months ago._ _

__"Yeah, I am a little bit crazy huh?" Blue snickered. "But in a good way! I'm told my enthusiasm is contagious." That default blue blush returned to his cheekbones as the tension between the two of them evaporated once again. "But...I can't imagine myself hating someone or something. It just feels...wrong." He remembered the spark of curious hunger he'd felt a few minutes ago, and shuddered.  
One couldn't purify someone without becoming a bit corrupted themselves. It was impossible, and Blue knew but accepted the consequences of helping Edge. He just wished he didn't have to lie about the feeling he'd gotten. He didn't want to encourage Edge with his pressuring Blue. "Alphys told me that it takes longer, but it's not impossible to raise your stats without killing others." He was okay with taking longer! He always would be._ _

__"Aren't you interested in just the slightest bit of becoming stronger, faster? Haven't you ever thought about it? What's the point in taking a long time when you don't have to? Besides, one creature wouldn't hurt...how about someone who has hurt you before? Don't you want to give them what they deserve?" Edge questioned with a devious smirk, tilting his head so that he could gauge the other’s expression from over his shoulder._ _

__Blue begun shivering as Edge continued to press. He was immensely uncomfortable, and tears sprung to the corners of his eye sockets. What would Papyrus think if his EXP went up? Surely nothing good, and he'd probably attack Edge for it. The two of them co-existed; that didn't make them friends. For the most part, in fact, the only person that gave Edge the time of day in the skeleton brothers household was Blue, as Red seemed to avoid his brother like the plague since they'd gotten here, and he found solace in Blue's own Papyrus._ _

__"I-I won't," he finally stuttered out, shaking his head and wringing his phalanges in nervousness. "It's for your own good, Edge. A-and mine, too. Killing is wrong in this universe...I won't hurt someone innocent for my own gain, even if they've done something a little mean here and there." Being a bully never justified death, or even inflicting pain, in Blue's eyes. But the poor skeleton felt so, so conflicted. He'd never felt peer pressure quite like this before._ _

__Edge continued to think about what it would be like if he managed to get Blue to bend to his will. The little guy was so sweet, he’d probably not be able to kill someone without making them feel happy first. Getting them to turn their back before coming forward and getting them right through the back. It was a delicious and oddly adorable thought, and he hardly resisted the urge to swipe a conjured tongue over his sharpened teeth at his own imagination._ _

__“Fine, fine. You’ll just never get as strong as you could be.” Edge said with a dark chuckle, turning his gaze back to the front as he continued on, deeper into the woods rather than towards Snowdin to return to their patrolling. It was likely that in his distress, Blue wouldn’t even notice. A part of him, the part that wasn’t tainted by the sheer amount of dust on his hands, was disgusted by what he was doing. But the vast majority of it felt a thrill. Blue’s resolve was obviously breaking. And...he would either ruin their friendship with his pressure, make Blue scared of him all over again, or he would get his way._ _

__Edge certainly had odd taste in what he considered 'adorable'. Betrayal kills would likely be worse than just killing someone--it hurt the Monster's soul as well as their body, and would be a much more painful death. Blue, even if he _were_ to decide to take up Edge on his manipulation, would likely never be that sadistic. He wanted to walk away from the other skeleton right then, as he could tell what the other was doing, but he didn't want to damage their friendship by being rude... _ _

__"T-then I accept that," Blue replied, tugging the hood of his makeshift jacket over his head, and zipping it up, as if the fabric would defend him from the sins the other skeleton was spitting out at him. "I can be an amazing idol to other Monsters through kindness...I don't have to kill to get to the top, even if it will take longer." He was determined to hold himself to those words, but he felt himself cracking under the pressure. "Pappy wouldn't like it if he saw my EXP go up, anyways, Edge, and I don't want him hurting you."_ _

__Edge, with all of his EXP, had many betrayal kills on his hands. It was a delicious sight, seeing Monsters happy to finally find someone nice in the world one moment, and then see their look of pained horror and betrayal the next as they dissolved into dust. At one point, he had even planned to do it to Blue. But this...this was so much better._ _

__“Yes, but Papyrus couldn’t really hurt me. You know that. You could be amazing! You could be captain of the Royal Guard, like I was. You’ll never get there just training, you know. Do you really think that Alphys is taking your training seriously? When you’ve been training for as long as you have and not yet been accepted? It’s time that you show how strong you really can be, Blue!” He was either going to make Blue run away, or fall victim to his words._ _

__Blue hated to admit it, even to himself, but Edge was right. Papyrus hadn't been able to land a single hit on Edge without Red's help in the beginning, and Alphys always told him that he just needed to keep practicing. But...that still didn't justify hurting someone. Doing something just because nobody would be able to stop you. He couldn't imagine Edge doing a betrayal kill to him though, no matter how high the other's LV was. Perhaps that was why it was called a betrayal kill..._ _

__Blue started officially crying now, blue tears spilling over and tracing his cheek bones before dripping onto his jacket, staining it dark. "Edge...please stop, I-I don't like feeling like this..." He said, feeling himself crack more and more as he felt himself warring. Being amazing was all Blue could have ever wanted--being respected by his peers. But was this really a good way to go about it? Just one Monster...that was all it would take. But once he started walking down that road...once he gave in, if he did...would he be able to stop?_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important plot point: Papyrus and Red are now soul mates. This is _very_ important for later on! So please bear it in mind!  
>  Ohh no! Poor Blue! What's he gonna choose?? Tune in next time, people! Happy pain!
> 
> Still think Edge is funny?
> 
> EDIT: On the 29th of this month, I will be flying out of town. I will be gone for a whole month! I may or may not have the time to sit down and update, as it will be me catching up with family, and also going out into the wilderness for a week. So apologies in advance if this is the only update for awhile! Hopefully 10k plus the 7k from earlier this week is enough!


	12. Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> __  
>  **Ring around the rosie, pockets full of posies...ashes, ashes, we all fall down!**   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaack! *party poppers*  
> Sorry for the delay, everyone! I got accepted into a really hardcore school after my trip, and when I got back, school had already started just days prior, so I had to get right into it. As it is right now I'm writing this at, like, 5 in the morning, because I decided to be a friggin' dumbass and pull an all-nighter...but I was like, "hey, if I'm gonna punch myself in the face, might as well be productive while I'm wide awake, right?"
> 
> Hopefully we'll be getting back into the swing of things here soon. Enjoy the chapter!

Edge got down on his knees in the snow, so that he was more at eye-level with Blue. Cupping the side of the shorter skeleton's head, Edge smirked and practically purred, "come on, Blue...you can do this. You never get the recognition that you rightly deserve--all it will take is one Monster, and everyone will finally realize you for the strength you possess...just gain a couple of levels. You will be able to keep your head, don't worry." Blue's blue eyes faded to a baser white before disappearing completely, leaving black voids. His tense posture slumped when he felt the other's hand on his cheek bone. "I...yeah, I really want that..." He conceded. "I...but I...was never good enough..." He grit his teeth. "Alphys keeps...coming up with excuses for why I can't join the royal guard...why? Aren't I worth it?" He rose his hands shakily to each of his temples, curling up slightly into himself. After a moment, his hands slowly lower, and he looks up at Edge, eyes still a blank void. "...One Monster," he told the other, though judging from how much he shook, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from more. He didn't want to admit this to himself. "J-just...one Monster, okay? That's it." He could feel his SOUL cracking under the pressure he felt, and if it were currently visible, it would be darkening with the corruption, losing it's usual shine from the utter purity he'd always been known for. "No more than that..."

Edge's smirk grew into a devious grin as Blue finally caved on his seductive promises, standing up and slapping Blue across the back of the head, in what was probably meant to be in a friendly and encouraging gesture, but for the shorter skeleton was only painful. "I knew you would see it my way, Blue! I know you can do it. Just one Monster." He, too, knew it wouldn't stop there, and a pointed red tongue snaked across his fangs at the thought of absorbing the other skeleton's purity, turning it as black and cold as his own SOUL. "You can show her that you are worthy. Show the entire Underground, in fact. No...the whole world!" He could only hope that his words would pump Blue up, because if the other let his anxiety get over him when he confronted a Monster, it would leave opportunity for panic to spread. If this were to be a successful endeavor on Edge's part, that simply could not happen.

Blue seemed to be somewhat reassured by the other's praise. "Yeah...I'll show her," he said. Conjuring his polearm, Blue started in the direction towards the bridge that lead to the further outskirts of Snowdin. He would have to be careful to only attack someone that couldn't be heard, because due to his inexperience it would be hard to say whether he could make a swift kill or not. He took Edge's hand, it almost looking like a child guiding their parent, though more intimidating. Monsters as they walked through the main part of Snowdin seemed to sense the dark aura after several had waved at him and not gotten a response. Some even looked at Edge in suspicion.

Edge had simply looked back at them with a blank stare that had caused the suspicious Monsters to shift their gaze, following quietly behind Blue as he navigated his way through Snowdin. He was radiating his own aura, and delighted in the fact that this was finally going to happen. Death was like a drug; like smoking, or drinking, but with the effects that a roller coaster ride might give an adrenaline junkie. It filled the affected with a thrilling sense of _power,_ and LOVE, and Papyrus knew that even if it might be hard at first, Blue would delight in the feeling. It was addicting, all-consuming, and even if Blue didn't continue today after the deed was done, the urge would forever be burned within the back of his skull, impulses coming a little bit easier, temper just a little bit shorter, chances of attacking higher...Edge had to hold back a dark chuckle at the thought of it. Corrupting someone so thoroughly pure.

About a mile out of Snowdin, they encounter Jerry. He was busy on his phone, mumbling about how there was no good wifi no matter where he went. He was completely unaware of Blue advancing on him. His polearm went from an inconspicuous blunt to a sharp point. Jerry looked up when he saw a shadow fall over him, about to complain about how Blue was blocking the light before he found the skeleton's polearm impaling him through the gut. Jerry for the first time looked scared rather than annoyed, phone dropping from his grip as he stared up at Blue in shock. The skeleton's expression was a careful, tight blank as he watched the Monster turn to dust. He's completely still for several long moments before slowly turning around, looking at Edge and saying nothing.

Blue continued to stare at the other blankly until he begun his applause. The noise seemed to startle him out of it, and he begun shivering, tears welling up again. Indeed he felt the rush of power, and it was so foreign, so ugly and disgusting...and yet, it felt euphoric, and he found that he wanted more. And he hated it. He was about to stumble over to Edge and start having a meltdown, but he'd heard a fairly audible gasp coming from off to the side. His gaze snapped in the direction of it, and he saw a Snowdrake peering at him from through the trees. It was an impulse, reflexive decision--he couldn't let anybody know of his sins.

Faster than before due to his increased LV, Blue closed the distance between himself and Snowdrake. It turned and tried to run, fluttering it's little wings, but he was faster. Pouncing on the Monster's back, he summoned a smaller bone and leaned forward. The Snowdrake parted it's maw to let out a shriek, but it was sharply cut off as he cut it's jugular. It writhed for a moment as it dissolved to dust, before finally slumping over and soon, only a small pile remained. He felt the rush again, and the shivers came back in a stronger wave as he felt power coursing through him. Now he begun crying, stumbling as if drunk back out of the woods and back towards Edge. "I-it was only supposed to be o-one," he choked, slumping over in the snow and beginning to weep. "W-why does it feel so good? Why does it hurt so much? Edge...what have you done to me?" A choked sob wracks his entire body, rattling his bones. He was so confused, he didn't know how to feel.

It was hard to contain the delighted noise that bubbled up in Edge's throat. He had delighted in the thrill of the hunt, but to watch someone so thoroughly against killing leap onto the back of a Snowdrake and slit it's throat...it was like tasting the finest wine. The disturbed look in Blue's sockets as he stared blankly at the pile of dust, Edge found that he lived for it. If he kept coaxing the other...he could have a weapon far more formidable than his own brother could ever dream to be. Edge, acting as the innocent crying shoulder, closed the distance between himself and Blue, cooing soft as silk but venomous as a snake. "It is okay, whelp, do not cry...look, your LV is already at two. Such an improvement! Though...I am sure you would be unstoppable at three..." A cruel smirk twisted his expression as Blue shivered in his grasp. He tenderly patted the other's back, before pushing Blue back somewhat and wiping away his tears. "Hush now..."

Blue was calmed by the other's soft comfort, it making him feel a little bit better. He clung to the other skeleton, weeping softly as the other wiped away his tears. But fortunately it didn't take him long to calm down. He sniffled. As his LV increased, he saw the sin in the other's words less and less--failed to see the manipulation and the liquid comfort in the other's voice as much. He took a deep, shuddering breath, then exhaled and slowly pushed away from Edge. "One more level..." He mumbled. His sockets still had yet to regain their pupils, but at the rate in which things were going, it was likely they'd never be seen again...unless he was casting magic. One more Monster, one more level, one more sin weighing down on his back...more, he needed more...

Blue looked at his shortened polearm, already coated in dust. A few sprinkles of it were also on his coat. Suddenly feeling sick to his stomach (or lack thereof) as he heard their pained cries echoing in his skull. Dust still contained the essence of a Monster after death, even if their SOUL didn't remain, and that allowed him to hear their futile cries for MERCY. 'I just wanted to get to snow you, but you killed him...you killed me,' echoed the Snowdrake. Even Jerry spoke, though it was spoke in the usual unintelligible grumble. He continued brushing the dust away, growing a bit more frantic, until the moans of agony in his head finally fell silent.

"Some Monsters are absolutely pathetic," Edge told Blue, voice full of disdain. "They just stand there and take it. Perhaps they wanted the sweet release of death. Wherever they are, it is a better place. You are doing them all a favor." A better place, doing them a favor...these words echoed in Blue's mind, numbing him more to how false they were. "One more level," Edge assured Blue, though he knew that he would be saying this over and over again, pushing Blue further and further away, into the depths of LOVE that Edge had already fallen into years ago. Couldn't have all of this risking backfiring and Blue doing something to Edge, after all. He wanted Blue to become his pet, and rebellion simply wouldn't do. "I will follow behind you," he said, taking to the shadows after gesturing for Blue to continue onward.

Blue shakily nodded and started towards Waterfall. One more level, and they'd go home and he would make dinner for everyone. It was getting late, and he was emotionally drained as the adrenaline faded from his system. But at the same time, deep down, he craved more. On the way there he saw Dogamy, without Dogaressa for once. He stood at post by the station where Doggo was bizarrely absent. Blue made a mental note to tell Alphys later...Dogamy turned around at hearing the crunching of snow, but when Blue paused saw nothing. "Who's there?" The canine called. "Dogaressa? Is that you?" Blue crept closer.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, before he cast his blue attack. The other's soul emerged, turning blue, and with a wave of his hand the dog was thrown into a tree, slamming into it so hard that snow fell from the branches. There was a sickening crunch, and Blue knew that he'd broken more than one important bone. "I'm so, so sorry," he said as he walked over to Dogamy, running his polearm through the other's SOUL. There was the sound of shattering glass, and the SOUL turned to dust like the rest of Dogamy. He paused for a moment before cleaning himself off again, then kicking the snow over the dust to hide the evidence.

Edge had watched the scene transpire with a wicked grin twisting his expression. It seemed to be cropping up more and more lately. If this were back in his timeline, Edge would have attacked Dogaressa first, knowing that she was the fighter out of the two dogs. But he had also figured out that this was a mirror version of his Universe, minus the kindness, and that all fight had just turned to dust, now being either blown away or buried by Blue's scuffing the snow with his boot, already turning from perfectly polished to grainy with a layer of dust.

He heard the sound of crunching snow just as Blue finished kicking snow over the remaining dust. Edge whistled to get Blue's attention.

The whistling had caught both Dogaressa and Blue's attention, and he turned to face the other skeleton when he caught sight of the Monster, scenting the air for Dogamy. "Dogamy?" Dogaressa called. "We were supposed to meet here! Where are you?" A reaction to the whistle, and Dogaressa walked in the direction of Edge. Blue, expression still dark with the guilt as it ate away at him, did his careful creeping as to avoid being seen by the dog. He was killing members of the royal guard--when had he started doing that? But they were slacking off...what would he say to Alphys?

Should he say anything to Alphys?

"Dogamy isn't here...Dogamy never will be," Blue mumbled, and Dogaressa whirled around to face Blue, sniffing the air. "You carry the smell of dust," the dog said, taking a step back, and bumping into Edge. Blue took another creeping step forward. "Forgive me, for I have sinned...it is all for a good cause though, I promise." Blue said, before finishing off Dogaressa as well. The dog fell to her knees when he slashed across her torso, then fell face-first into the snow before dissolving into dust. Blue chuckled sadly, quietly at first, then burst into tears while he cackled at the same time, head thrown back. The feeling he felt...it was so deliciously painful, but he felt the pain numbing more and more with each kill, being replaced with the euphoria.

Blue's laughter soon dissolved into gross sobbing as his breathing came in short, desperate gasps. He knew now that his LV was three, and wanted to keep his self-promise this time, since he hadn't the first. "I-I want to go home..." He whimpered, clutching the other's red scarf in his fingers once the other skeleton had approached. "P-please, Edge...I-I wanna go home..." His moment of insanity had faltered, as his sins came back and bit him in the non-existent ass. He just wanted to see his brother and cuddle with him and have him tell things were going to be alright...

"I-I want to make tacos and be with my brother and forget this happened...ohh, Jerry, Snowdrake, Dogamy and Dogaressa...I'm so, so sorry." He clutched at his skull, rocking a bit in place. His soul throbbed from his ribcage, visible now due to his intense emotions. It had gone from cyan to cerulean, darkened from the crimes he'd committed. He tried desperately to get himself under control. To brighten up and pretend that things were alright. But he could already feel himself slipping, at only level three...why was it happening so fast? Was he really that easy to contaminate? His SOUL cracked more.

Blue felt all of his long-hidden hatred bubbling up to the surface, assisted by his LV. He'd always been happy, cheerful unconditionally no matter what happened to him. That was why he was so vulnerable--he'd been penting everything up without even realizing it until he finally let himself have an outlet. He needed to stop, before he got in too deep...

Edge almost felt... _bad_ for what he had basically forced Blue into, but did not allow it to linger. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Blue, hoisting the smaller skeleton up into his arms and cradling him as he started back towards their house. "They are all in a better place now, Blue. Do not worry yourself so much." Edge reassured the other. "It was only four Monsters. There is no need to feel bad about it." There are a few minutes of silence as Edge makes his way back into Snowdin, Blue carefully maneuvered so that none of the villagers can see the sins covering Blue's uniform. He only puts down the smaller Monster once they reach the front door, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Blue was grateful when Edge scooped him up and begun carrying him home. As they walked he slowly calmed down, his sobbing becoming shuddering breaths as he relaxed, snuggling into the other's battle body. He was so, so tired all of a sudden. He felt as if he were being weighed down by a ton of bricks, and he knew it was because of the guilt of his crimes. He needed to find a way to shrug them off, without committing any more murder...but how?

When Blue is set down and patted, he snuggles into Edge's side, deciding to relax a bit before he went upstairs to get his brother. This takes about fifteen minutes, before he backs away. "I'm going to get our brothers, and then I'll start dinner." He said, starting up the stairs. He knocked on his brother's door, and when he got no response, knocked more insistently. Finally he felt the fear coiling like a snake in his non-existent gut, and grabbed at the doorknob, finding it unlocked. He walked inside...

And let out a sigh of relief when he found the two of them were merely sleeping. It reeked of smoke, and yet it had a sweeter tang to it that was different from Papyrus' usual tobacco...then there was also something else that Blue couldn't place that made him feel uncomfortably warm. He shook his head and closed the door, walking downstairs again. "Edge...could you get them? It smells funny up there, and it makes me uncomfortable...I'll just get started on dinner, okay?"

Edge followed only with his eyes as Blue made his way upstairs, reaching wordlessly behind himself and twisting the lock on the door. Didn't need anybody coming in uninvited...when Blue came back downstairs, Edge simply nodded, only quirking a brow bone once he grazed past the shorter, more happily clad skeleton and heading up the stairs. When he made it to the top, he caught a whiff of that uncomfortable smell Blue had been talking about and knew what it was before he even opened the door. Though this did not deter him; rather, he threw the door open, storming in and ripping the blanket off of the two skeletons, curled up to each other in the bed. "You two are fucking disgusting," he hissed.

Blue was quick to start on dinner, face dyed blue in a fluster rather than remorse or tears this time. He found that upon doing what Edge said, the other skeleton had been getting more affectionate. He'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the attention. But...he shook his head, getting out the taco meat and putting it in a bowl to stir it up before he would heat it up in a frying pan.

Papyrus hadn't woken up when Edge walked into the room, though he had been in a void between wakefulness and sleep. So when Edge threw the covers off of them, his eyes flew open and he was immediately on high alert, all dazed behavior shocked from his system. "Boss, what the fuck?!" He exclaimed, not even caring that he'd finally called the other by the dreaded nickname before realizing why the other was insulting them in the first place. He noticed his semi-nakedness and glanced over at Red, to find that his worries had been confirmed.

Bashfully, Papyrus curled his knees to his chest. "Get out!" He exclaimed, right eye socket flaring as he cast gravity magic, attempting to get the other skeleton out of the room so that he could properly recall what had happened while he and Red had been high. Fuck--he should have known something like this would happen, and he didn't need some asshole insulting him when he tried to get things straightened out. Shit, what would Red think? Had he wanted it, or did Papyrus force himself onto him? He felt himself run cold at the thought of having taken advantage of the other while he was high.

Red was quickly disturbed from his light slumber after the sound of his brother's voice cut through the air, startling him from his sleep. It had been the most restful nap he had gotten in a long time, and though he woke up quickly, becoming aware takes a long moment. And then he realizes he's only wearing Papyrus' tank top and he blushes a bright red, tugging the cloth as far down as he possibly could to cover his bare pelvis, toothy grin turning into a deep, anxious frown. "It has hardly been any time at all and you two are already going at it like fucking rabbits. You are absolutely revolting," Edge continued to jibe, before he felt the other's gravity magic and cackled before starting out on his own, waving a dismissive hand. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just get decent, you horny shits. Blue's making food." And just like that, with a flourish of his tattered cape, the tallest skeleton was gone.

Red, however, was much less carefree about the situation. As soon as Edge was out of sight he was on his feet, scrambling around the room and looking for his boxers, muttering obscenities under his breath. He did not regret sleeping with Papyrus--far from it, in fact--but he worried about how Edge would treat him, once they were alone and Papyrus could not protect him.

It was true, the whole thing had been pretty fast-paced. However...maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it had just been sex without...Papyrus summoned his soul from his chest, and felt himself choke up a bit at what he saw. He clutched it carefully in his hands until Edge left the room before carefully uncupping it. His normally orange SOUL had patches of swirling red on it, and he didn't want to believe it, but he knew what it meant. He glanced over at Red, seeing him starting to panic, and slowly scooted over, holding out his arms. It looked like the other was freaking out--no, he could tell Red was freaking out, and he was no longer so sure whether it was okay for him to embrace the other skeleton. He'd been so certain before...but he suddenly felt like he was back at square one.

"Red...Red," Papyrus mumbled, slowly getting louder. "W-we..." He held out his SOUL, eyes wide. No, they hadn't just had sex--they had _mated_ , while they were fucking high. He could hardly believe it. "Please calm down, and show me your SOUL..." He took a deep breath, holding it deep in his chest for a moment before slowly letting it out. He needed to confirm to himself. If the other's SOUL had orange swirls on it, then that would mean...that would mean that not only are they SOUL mates, but they'd bonded themselves to each other.

"Edge, where are Paps and Red?" Blue asked, peeking from around the archway that lead into the kitchen, at Edge whom was now in the living room. "Is something the matter?" Had the strange smell been some sort of sickness? It didn't smell like any sickness he'd smelled before...and it had been over a week since he himself was ill! The poor skeleton was too innocent (not really) to know what had happened, and knowing Edge, would probably learn in a really lewd and blatant way.

Of course, this is exactly what happens. "Blue, they fucked in the bedroom." He told the other, voice completely deadpan. He doesn't stop there, though, instead continuing with, "as in, doing the do. Grinding against each other and pounding heatedly into one another without relent, with desperate mewls..." Of course, he was drawing from his own experiences with Red, but if it had been anything like his previous fuckings...he smirked. "Also, the room smelled like weed. So not only were they fucking like horny rabbits, but they were also high off their asses."

Meanwhile, Red was trying his hardest not to have a panic attack. Edge had caught them. Maybe not during the act, but now he knew that they had at least had sex with each other...what would his punishment be? Despite the fact that Papyrus was tied into the issue, when Red looked over at hearing his name being called softly, he found comfort in the gentle lull of the other skeleton's voice, walking over and crawling into Papyrus' arms. He blinked when the other requested to see his SOUL, but trusted him a whole lot more than other Monsters, so there wasn't too much hesitation. Carefully, he drew out his mangled SOUL, littered with scratches and scars, as well as dull with depression. But, just along the side, there was a flash of orange...like roiling steam under the lid of a pot. "Oh my God," he breathed in disbelief.

Papyrus was immensely relieved that Red wasn't spooked enough to not accept a hug, wrapping his arms around Red and pressing his sternum to the other's spine. One arm wrapped around the other, the other cupping his SOUL. His legs lay outstretched on each side of Red as he processed the fact that both of their SOULs were stained with each other's auras.

"I don't know the rules of SOULs in your universe..." Papyrus finally said after a minute of staring. He'd finally found the words...at least, he thought he did. "But...we gave our virginities to each other. We didn't just...we didn't just sleep together. We mated." He nuzzled the other, eye sockets pinching shut. "Our SOULs accepted each other, so...it's not all bad, but. I'm sorry. You should have been sober to decide who you wanted to bind yourself to. I...understand if you won't accept me as your mate." The only way to truly break the bond was for one of them to kill the other, but Red would more likely just end up leaving him. He would understand completely, but he couldn't help but feel his SOUL throb with a saddened ache at the thought.

Blue went completely blue in the face, and just barely managed to stop himself from dropping the pan in his hand. He choked on a breath, "t-they what?!" All of that had happened while they were out? That was what he'd been smelling? Blue suddenly felt violated, even though he'd been the one to intrude on another Monster's space. "You don't have to be so explicit!" He chided in a shrill voice, stirring the meat a bit more vigorously as he put it on the frying pan, a sizzling sound filling the space where his ears would be as the fat burned off. He felt himself tense up somewhat when Edge brought up the marijuana. His brother still had some of that?! It seemed there were a lot of things going on that he hadn't known about...

Then again, he was keeping secrets now, too. How exactly do you come clean to someone you love about the fact that you had just murdered four perfectly innocent people?


	13. Author's Note (Expired)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a question for you guys. This chapter is temporary, at best.

Hey guys, I've noticed that I haven't updated the fic in awhile, and I really gotta apologize for that.

I've been really bad lately about making time for myself to do things like update my stories. I'm not nearly as depressed as I was (though that was a playing factor for the majority of the time I have been absent), and I really haven't been that busy (especially since I have a 9 day break for Thanksgiving, and have been sleeping it away), but I've just not...felt in the mood?

As you all hopefully know, this story is based off of a roleplay. I take my posts and paste them with minor edits, and then I take my friend's post and rewrite it so that I don't feel like I'm stealing or taking credit. That being said, I have everything laid out for me; I just have to get off my ass long enough to actually make the edits. Plus, neither of us have made a post for some time...it seems that there has been sort of a writers block on my part, as it is my turn. I've been slacking a bit with my roleplay responses in general.

But basically, I'm gonna cut to the chase: would you like to see a polished chapter, where I've made the edits and changes and reformatting, or would you rather I take all of our posts directly from the text, with only minor grammatical edits made (for legibility)? I really want to post polished versions, but I also want to ask you guys, the readers, if you prefer quantity over quality, or quality over quantity. This fic is already a good ways in, and we already know how we want to end it...it's just a matter of getting there. I'm sure that I'd be able to get over this rut eventually, but I wanted to ask you guys your opinion on it.

So, uh, leave your thoughts in the comments, yeah? Thank you all for your patience!

PS> I know I haven't said anything in awhile, but the sheer amount of follows, kudos, bookmarks and views...absolutely blows me away! I'm so glad that you guys like our fanfiction so much, and I just want to give a huge thank you, especially to those of you that have taken the time to drop a comment entailing praise or especially criticism. It means the world to me that you guys read our work, and I'm sorry for failing you by taking so long.

PPS> If you're a Fontcest writer and any of your fanfictions are over 20k/are complete, please let me know! I'm on the hunt for fanfictions all the time, and it's starting to feel like I've read everything. ;v; Some of you guys that have left kudos, like DeckofDragons, 0neType or ThiefofStealth (huge honor by the way, I love you guys' work!) I have already read your stuff, but if you haven't seen kudos from me or just have a hunch, please feel free to do some advertising! When I'm not being a layabout, I'm reading, though I suppose I do most of my reading while being a layabout, haha.

Polished: 9  
Raw: 1

**EDIT: 11/30/16: Okay, so at this point, it looks like Polished is winning by a _lot._ So I'm gonna go ahead and put my bets on you all wanting me to do that. I'll do my best to try and crank out a chapter by this weekend. Thank you guys for your opinions! You rock!**


	14. LOVE and Determination (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue falls further and further into the darkness of his own mind, and the other skeletons are completely powerless to stop it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What was that about updating that weekend? Hm! It would seem I've time traveled!  
> The order of the posts hasn't been changed, unlike in previous chapters. I made grammatical changes, removed timestamps, and changed some dialogue. This chapter is also riddled with lots of headcanons (not like previous ones weren't, too, heh), so be ready for that. :>  
> Hey...let's see if I can finish this by it's one year anniversary? That sounds like a cool goal to have. :U  
> I'm gonna try to start posting longer chapters to make up for the great lengths between posts. I feel pretty bad, haha.  
> Updates may have to move to weekends. We'll see how things go. But trying to set up a consistency seems to cause more inconsistency.  
> A lot of my headcanons have shifted since the start of this story, as well. Like now I headcanon Blueberry as being older than Papy, despite the fact he acts more innocent. But I'll stay consistent with my old headcanons on here to avoid confusion.
> 
> EDIT: Made some very much needed edits after beta'ing the fic a second time. It should hopefully run much more smoothly than before, and have little to no errors. If you notice anything, please tell me!

"Don't say that... I-I didn't mind giving it up to you. And I still don't." Red offered a small smile, letting his eyes fall shut as he draped his arms around the Papyrus. "It's not a bad thing, is it? I mean, I really don't mind. Can't say that I wouldn't have wanted to do it with you anyways..." The short, red skeleton said with a shrug. His cheeks burned with embarrassed red magic as he sighed heavily and curled tighter into the other's side. "Don't worry about it, okay? I'm gonna go downstairs and talk to Boss." That being said, Red motioned to stand. He escorted himself out of the room with a wave towards Papyrus. Despite his slight anxiety, he was still feeling pretty relaxed.

"Pretty gross, huh? I'm going to talk to Red about it. You should talk to Papyrus about it, too." He smiled and patted Blue on the head, much to the short skeleton's delight. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to look too elated, with this new information swimming about in his skull. "It's okay. I know my own Brother has a darker side to him, but...still, watch my back and make sure he doesn't attack me. I don't quite trust myself to hold back if he decides to turn on me." He sounded so genuine, as if he had finally changed, when in reality this was not the case at all. Really, he was just becoming a good actor. Edge hopped down from the counter, the two ending up crossing paths in the living room.

Papyrus was visibly relieved at Red's response, his cheek bones flushing orange as he snuggled into the other's neck before he got up. Now that they'd both accepted each other, all he wanted to do was cuddle. But he understood that the other wanted to sort things out, and nodded as Red left the room, standing up as well and stretching some. Papyrus made sure that he was decent, and was about to follow the other downstairs when he meets his brother in the doorway.

Blue had made sure to finish cooking the meat before going upstairs, not wanting to leave food unattended. He fumbled with his fingers before looking up at Papyrus. "Hey...uh, Paps? Can I speak with you?" He asked. He'd watched Red coming down the stairs just a moment before, and hadn't been able to resist shooting his alternate self a wary glare. If Edge was right, and Red had taken advantage of his brother...he would have not done anything before, but then he felt a flash of guilt at the realization. Had him being level one really made him that weak? To not do anything to even help his brother?

Blue still tried to not jump to any conclusions as Papyrus nodded, and they went to Blue's room, because his room still made the smaller skeleton uncomfortable with the scent that wafted from it. Papyrus would have to go through there with some air freshener later, or something along those lines. "Edge told me that Red might have...taken advantage of you. That it wouldn't be a surprise. I-I know it's not really my business, but..." Papyrus felt an odd, foreign sort of emotion wash over him. It was protectiveness; Blue was his brother, but he shouldn't have to share. Unfortunately, as the two went back and forth, things grew a bit heated.

"Why can't you tell me? Is Edge right?" Blue demanded. Papyrus shook his head. "No, I just don't think it's any of your business. Why do you care so much anyways?" Blue was never so insistent of anything before. Usually when Papyrus tried to avoid a conversation, Blue just rolled with it...suspicious, Papyrus observed the other's stats, and found something that caused his SOUL to drop.

Blue doesn't really know what happened, but one moment Papyrus is there staring at him with dark eye sockets, and the next he's on the other side of the room, throwing the door open and darting down the stairs. Blue followed quickly, fearing the worst. "You dirty fucking sinner!" Papyrus yelled in a way that caused Blue to wince. He'd never, ever heard his brother truly yell before.

Red found himself pretty relaxed, his hands at his sides as he adjusted the tank he wore. He was worried as he let his gaze shift back up to him. Edge crossed his arms and made an angry expression towards the shorter skeleton as they stared each other down. Both of them took secondary notice of the other two skeleton brothers disappearing back upstairs.

"Hey, uh-" Red started, only to be cut off by Edge, whom reached forward and grabbed his skull between his fingers, jerking his head up. "You're a fucking disgrace. I had hoped you wouldn't fuck the other me. You really are a slut, aren't you _Red_?" The name was said with venomous mockery. Red's teeth ground against each other as he looked to the side, not having the will to argue back and make eye contact. "Funny you insult me when it seems that's all you want me to be. I was never meant to be your whore in the first place. I'm so sick of dealing with your shit. It was a mere accident, it's not a big deal. You need to stop harassing me about everything I do! You're no longer in control of me. I refuse to allow you to do what you used to." It was so nice to speak up for himself, though his tone wavered somewhat at the end as the short skeleton shifted on his weight.

However, it wasn't so nice to get backhanded clear across the face, a sharp whimper leaving Red, phalanges curling into fists at his sides. He didn't dare reach up to cup his injury. "You'll do as I tell you. You're still weak and pitiful. You'll never be as good as anyone here. Red, staying with Papyrus in there is doing you no fucking good, and you're only going to make him just as weak as you. In fact...isn't that what you did? You took someone that was better than you and drug them down to your level. Scum of the Earth." 

Red was growing steadily more enraged as his taller but younger brother continued to talk down to him. He was supposed to be the older brother! His bone weapon materialized, appearing in hand. He always preferred the sword over the double daggers his brother often wielded. He held it tight in his hands as Edge summoned his own, expression tightening with determination. He felt different now...like he could finally do something. By the time Papyrus had reemerged to yell at Edge, Red had the sword pressing against the throat of his brother, Edge panting and the smaller skeleton practically boiling in anger, frustration from being degraded for so many years boiling over.

Papyrus had heard part of the two Underfell brother's conversation, and now he was angry for two reasons. Insulting Red, and corrupting his innocent, baby brother. Flickers of memory came to him from when he'd been mating with Red; Red's memories, in fact. Make that a third reason. "You _raped_ him," Papyrus snarled, that protective instinct--something naturally occurring when Monsters felt they or their significant other was threatened--growing ever stronger. "You raped Red, multiple times. You pressured my little bro into committing murder and raising his LV. I should have _never_ kept you in this house."

Blue stood off to the side, watching everything start to brew with wide eyes. Edge had done that to his brother? Had he also been...intentionally manipulating Blue? He thought back to when he'd made a promise to only kill one Monster, and how that had quickly become two, and then four--two in which were members of the royal guard he so idolized. Edge hadn't stopped him from killing Dogamy and Dogaressa...in fact, he'd encouraged it, knowing of Blue's promise...he shivered as he felt conflicted. He was mad at Edge for lying to him, Papyrus for being secretive, and Red...because of making his brother so secretive? He felt like Red was somehow responsible. There was something that each of the brothers weren't telling him.

" **ENOUGH!** " Blue suddenly screamed, having been sitting there and silently boiling as his thoughts whirled. His biggest special attack yet was abruptly cast, left eye socket lighting up blue and the other dark as he cast gravity magic on all three of the other Monsters' SOULs, arm jerking this way and that as he threw them all to opposite sides of the room; and none-too-gently, at that. He'd yelled more towards his own thoughts than the other three, as they'd hardly said a thing, but Blue wasn't okay anymore. He was feeling conflicted again. He summoned his pole-arm, clutching it tight in his hand. "I don't like all of the secrets and lies in this house. I want _answers_." He was trembling, feeling his sanity slip again as his gaze flicked rapidly back and forth, from one skeleton to the next.

Edge didn't seem to even flinch as Papyrus raced down the stairs to confront him. He simply glanced at him, held at point by Red. He hadn't been this exposed in a long time, let alone by his brother, and the dark skeleton begun secretly reevaluating his life choices. "I wanted your brother stronger. I was doing him a favor, unlike you, who sits on your lazy ass while he busts his butt trying to make you happy and get into the Guard. I'm helping him reach his goals...I'm doing an awfully good job at it, too..." He wasn't about to reveal his remorse so easily, however, as he felt Red shift to instead press the bone sword against his spinal cord. Red knew that he couldn't do it, if it really came down to it, but he did a good job acting like he would.

Red yelped as there was a sudden flash of movement, Edge knocking his bone sword off to the side and whirling to pin him against the wall. He growled up at the other skeleton, breathing becoming more labored as he looked over at blue with an expression that clearly read fear.

"You shouldn't be talking. I can't believe you even mildly trusted my brother! What is wrong with you?" Edge snarled, looking up from Red and over to the smallest skeleton in the household. "I didn't do anything to your brother, unlike what mine did to yours." He was letting the frustration he had towards everything out on Blue. Despite seemingly having the upper hand, he was growing somewhat desperate, and it showed in his tone of voice.

While the three skeletons spoke with one another, Papyrus lay there in a daze. His single hit point was wavering, as unlike Red, he didn't have to be hit in the SOUL to lose his one HP, and he had been thrown to the wall pretty hard. His determination to stay alive was the only reason he hadn't just immediately turned to dust, it instead dropping to 0.50 like it had when Red had accidentally hit him the first time. His spine hadn't shattered, but it was chipped, and he could feel yet another shirt being stained with marrow. Dammit, it was almost as if he couldn't go a single day without ruining whatever happened to be on his torso. He lay there quietly panting, clutching his wound as Blue fired back at Red's words.

"You're a hypocrite!" Blue accused of Red. "You say I can't trust Edge, but who's to say that you deserved our trust any more than he did? You didn't attack on sight like he did, but you /both/ came from the _same_ Universe!" He whirled on Edge. "And you! I honestly did think I could trust you, regardless of what Red says! You manipulated me...Paps is right. You're a dirty _fucking_ sinner!" Tears slipped down his face as he yelled the final line. The flare in his left eye socket intensified as he lifted his left hand in the air, throwing it upwards, and Edge's SOUL is forced to follow as he slammed the other skeleton into the ceiling, and then another wall, before just flinging the tallest skeleton like a rag doll to crash into the table.

Blue stumbled then, breathing heavily and sweat rolling in bullets down his skull as he fell to one knee, panting and sobbing. He felt so filthy, and he wrapped himself in a hug, scrubbing vigorously at his arms as if he could clean himself. He felt a sensation of something crawling under skin, though he was lacking in it. It was his sins, he just knew it.

"This is a doomed timeline," Papyrus murmured when he felt himself sobering somewhat. "This...this wasn't supposed to happen. We have to find out how to RESET--" Blue suddenly jerked up, facing his weakened brother. "All this talk of doomed timelines! If you're not being a lazybones...that's all you talk about! More secrets!" Papyrus could tell in this moment that his brother had completely lost his mind. Shakily, the normally orange-clad skeleton stumbled to his feet, red marrow dripping down his pelvis and tracing his femurs. His right eye-socket lit up, and his expression was carefully blank. "Blue, you have to stop this. I don't want to fight you, but you're losing yourself. You need to come back..."

Red didn't look up at Blue. He was used to be calling insults, but he was extremely worried about Papyrus. The tall, typically orange-clad skeleton looked like he could fall over and die within the next couple seconds. The edgy short skeleton's gaze shifted to look down to his feet, despite still being pinned against the wall. Although after Blue's outburst, Edge's grip seems to have loosened somewhat. "I didn't ask for anyone's trust." He mumbled, despite the fact that he was grateful for having it with his new mate, Papyrus.

Meanwhile, Edge hadn't expected Blue to behave this way, initially planning on talking the uncharacteristically angry skeleton down, instead letting out a choked noise as his SOUL was encased in the telling blue aura of gravity magic before being lifted and flung around. He gasped in agony, feeling his HP lower drastically as his bones splintered under the force of crashing into the table, and it's then Edge finally realizes the severity of the situation. What has he created? This was not what he had wanted to happen--he wanted to see Blue stronger, maybe mess with his morals a bit, but this...Edge groaned, phalanges curling into his skull as he rolled into a fetal position over the splintered remains of the table.

Red merely watched as this entire situation transpired, mortified with all that was happening right before him. His eyes wandered over to Papyrus in the corner, and Red decided he couldn't just sit there. He was worried about Blue killing his own brother. He forced himself to his feet, despite his own pain. Red's eyes were black voids as his new instinct to protect his mate filled him with the determination he would need to fight back.

Red found himself teleporting several feet and grabbing Blue's shoulders, shaking his other self vigorously in his grip. "Stop it! You almost killed your own fucking brother, and you're no better than any of us if you do that. Snap out of it!"

Blue seemed to realize his mistake as Red grabbed him, looking at the chaos he'd caused around him. Doing a check on Edge's stats, and then Papyrus', he realized he'd nearly killed both of them. Feeling himself starting to hyperventilate, he let out a choked sob that dissolved into an insane laugh. He curled into himself, arms wrapped around his abdomen as he tried to get himself under control. It didn't go so well. "Well, Paps is right...this is a doomed timeline...so what's it matter?" With one more blast of magic, Blue threw the skeletons one last time; Edge particularly hard. Papyrus grunted in pain as his HP dropped to 0.050; if he'd been further from the wall, he might have died.

Papyrus' vision swum, black around the edges as he watched Blue, eyes once more black voids as he looked caught between grimacing in disgust at the state of his "friends" and grinning at how suddenly powerful he felt. When his vision came to again, Blue was long gone. The smallest skeleton had decided to pay Alphys a visit...she was why he'd wanted to become powerful, after all! And well, if she denied him...he giggled as he made haste towards Waterfall.

"W..." Papyrus slurred, shifting in an effort to get up but only sliding back to the floor, as if he'd tried walking on bars of soap. His skull rolled to the side. "We've gotta...go 'fter 'im..." He wheezed, clutching at his ribs. He was sitting in a pool of his own marrow by this point. "Gotta...RESET th'...t'mline..."

Red hadn't expected for this to happen. Not really, and especially not from his alternate self of all Monsters. He watched in numb disbelief as his own body jerked back and to the side, horrified by Blue's sudden raw strength. Had he always been this powerful? He wanted to stop his other self before he fled, but couldn't find it in himself to do so, mind suddenly overwhelmed. Red's eye sockets flooded with tears at the corners as he crawled over to Papyrus, who looked half dead. Ignoring the pool of crimson that rested around his mate like a damning halo, he pulled the other close and willed his healing magic to spark to life.

Edge, once the shock wore off, even contributed his own healing magic into saving Papyrus (despite how hard and draining it was to use; healing magic was a kindness trait, and with his LV, that was exceedingly difficult to channel). The tall, dark skeleton finally appeared genuinely guilty. He only had about fifteen HP left after the assault--Blue had really done a number on him--but grits through the agony to heal his fallen alternate. He would make it through this fine, eventually--he could snag some food later and move on, no problem. But that didn't make things any less painful. Meanwhile, Red was full out sobbing into Papyrus' shoulder, even after the skeleton was healed. He was shaking from exerting so much magic when he was already low to begin with, but was glad that he didn't have to lose a mate so soon after gaining one.

"Bro, what the fuck were you thinking?!" Red accused, whirling on Edge with his eye sockets narrowed. He sniffled, still stuffy, but visibly pissed. Edge had the decency to look guilty as he assisted the other skeletons back to their feet--Red looked disgusted at even touching him, though he accepted the help, while Papyrus still seemed too dazed to care. "I didn't know this would happen. No one here can put up a fight. I wanted to have some fun, and I created that in the process."

Papyrus had been unconscious for at least a couple of minutes as his body went into self-preservation mode, but he was revived when the Underfell brothers' healing magic washed over him. His eye sockets slowly opened, and his bones stopped seeping his life-marrow, though the puddle of red did not vanish as the decimal once again became a full number. He hadn't expected to see that Edge had helped in healing him. He still hated the other skeleton, but he couldn't be exactly mad in that moment as he accepted the other's help, standing up with a stumble. If Papyrus had a nose, it would have wrinkled at the sight and stench of the fluids that stained the wall and floor.

"You turned my brother into something that can throw a level fifteen Monster around like they weigh nothing. You're right--none of the Monsters here can defend themselves. Which means you just doomed _everyone_." He looked at Red. "Red, I know that there's a risk of you being lost in the Void..." He said, remembering their theories from before. "Which is why I want you to try and go back to your timeline, at least for a little while..." He looked back up at Edge, "...while he stays here with me and helps me fix his mistake." If their theory ended up proving true and any Monsters from other universes were to be erased, well then Papyrus wouldn't let Red be dragged down with his brother.

Meanwhile, Blue was already most of the way to Waterfall, where Alphys' house was. He'd killed Shyren, Aaron, and two Moldsmal. Before long, he reaches his destination. He knocks on Alphys' door, a big grin on his face. It opened and immediately something swung down from the other side. Already prepared, Blue's pole arm rose up, swiftly parrying the attack. Alphys stood there, expression dark. "Undyne told me that she saw you in her cameras," the yellow dinosaur-lizard spoke. "Why, Sans? How could you do this?"

"Papyrus, no. I'm not leaving." Red murmured despairingly but determinedly, motioning to take his mate in his arms, only to apply emphasis to his statement. He wouldn't leave. He was worried about Blue, too, as he chanced a glance over at his younger brother. Edge actually really did look guilty--what has he done? Blue wasn't meant to go off the deep end, especially that quickly. He wanted to see how other Monsters died, finding it amusing in the same way people used to pit people against each other for amusement, but it seemed that his prior level of innocence simply didn't allow that level of corruption without backfiring horribly. Just the smallest drop of corruption psychologically fucked Blue, seemingly forever. Could he even be saved?

"Papyrus, our timeline doesn't even exist anymore. Believe me, I tried to go back." When Papyrus blinked up at him and glared in the beginnings of betrayed shock, he quickly amended, "I didn't want you to have to put up with all my shit, but there's nothing there anymore. Or, at the very least, I don't know how to get there." He had gotten here on accident, after all. "Besides...maybe we should take Blue's advice? Maybe he can still be saved." Red thought back on Blue's words, said so many times to both himself ("why are so you nice to me?" "because I know you can be better! You just have to believe in yourself!") and Edge, on many different occasions. "Besides, I wouldn't leave this Universe anyway, no matter what happens in it. I'd probably never be able to come back. Remember, I told you I'd rather die a slow, horrible death than go back to my own timeline."

When Red took his hand, Papyrus was quick to squeeze it before he was wrapped up in a hug. He was quick to reciprocate, leaning down to wrap his arms around the other's neck and pull him close. Papyrus was pleased that Edge at least looked guilty. It was basically the end of the world after all, and he'd caused it. He _should_ feel like shit. Nothing could ever, ever justify what he'd done to Papyrus' brother. He wanted to protest to the other saying no to going back to his timeline, but was quick to learn that there was no timeline to return to.

"Do you think it could be because of that strange thing killing all of the Monsters back in your timeline?" Papyrus asked, feeling himself turn cold. What if whatever that was came to their timeline next? Could they handle another killer something running around, murdering everyone? He suddenly didn't want Red wandering off on his own through Universes anymore, not with so much danger running amok. But was it any safer here, with Blue having lost his head? "The roles are swapped," Papyrus observed when the other said that he was the expert on time anomalies, and not Edge. "Heh...regardless. I know that I can't do this alone...but I don't want you putting yourself in danger with Blue. He means serious business." He knew Red wasn't defenseless, but his magic storage was already low, and had been strangled when he'd healed Papyrus.

"I'm doing it because I want to be stronger," Blue mumbled back to Alphys, and with a shove, he used his pole-arm to knock the other's weapon away, sending her back a couple of steps as he advanced, walking into her home. "You wanted me to be stronger, too. But your training methods weren't good enough...my friend showed me the effective way!" He seemed to falter at the mention of Edge. "But he was a traitor...just like you're a liar! Right, Alphys?" He giggled as he swung at Alphys again. "You were never going to let me into the royal guard anyways, right? No matter what I did?" Alphys begun to sweat as she blocked another crushing blow. She could feel his power. "No, I wouldn't have...but it wasn't because you weren't good enough, Sans! I just didn't want to see you hurt..." Blue cackled. "But that's just it, Alphys...I'm strong now. I'm not weak, I won't be hurt! The only one that's going to get hurt...is you."

"It's...a possibility. It had to have wiped out timelines before, with how quickly it took out Monsters with such high LV. But the question is...how would it do that, without reversing it's own clock and being set back to zero? There's no telling what happened to it, though, whatever or whoever it is. Hopefully it vanished with the destruction of the timeline." As time went on, things made less and less sense. Red really was only pulling things out of his ass at this point.

The short, edgy skeleton sighed, scooting slightly away from Papyrus to look at Edge. "Are you going to help? You'd better fuckin' help. Who even has the power to RESET here? I haven't seen a Human running around. There was a flower back in our timeline capable of doing it, but after fucking with the outcomes a few times, he went all pacifist and started going around begging Monsters to change." His eyes shifted to Edge. "You won't remember, you know that though, right? Neither will Blue." Edge simply nodded, only really half-understanding what was being talked about, but not feeling up to asking any questions right now. "I just hope you don't pull the same shit in the next timeline."

Papyrus watched as Red seemed to take the reins under the pressure, something the second-tallest skeleton had never seen before. "Just hope it doesn't come here..." Papyrus said. "We need to get to the RUINS. I know what you're talking about--there's a Monster that can control time there for us, too. A little cat-like creature. He's way, way too nice though." Papyrus shuddered. "In a creepy way, I mean. Not an endearing way like with Blue." A sigh, and the skeleton continued, "but he's got to be our best bet. He is the only one with the power to RESET, since the kid hasn't come down here in several reboots."

Papyrus had some mixed feelings towards the idea of Edge not remembering all of this after the RESET. It had taken all of this shit happening in order to make Edge see what he'd done wrong, and if it RESET and he forgot, then there was a good chance that things would repeat themselves. He thought of all of the RESETs where Frisk possessed Chara, over and over again, in a seemingly endless loop. Until one day he woke up in bed and Chara didn't fall down anymore.

Alphys looked like she was about to cry, when her expression suddenly morphed into something dark and indescribable. "I can't let you do that, Sans." She said, and suddenly ran forward, raining a flurry of relentless blows. Sans was hit a couple of times, but managed to block most of them. "I'm sorry...but I have to defeat you." Blue shrugged, his grin somehow widening even further. "You can try." He landed a series of his own blows, Alphys carefully blocking each one as he counted in his head how many turns there would be until he could cast his special attack. Finally, suddenly, his eye lit up. "It's all over, Alphys. Say your prayers..." Blue muttered darkly. Alphys looked like she was about to say something, maybe plead for Mercy, but she was already being slammed ruthlessly into the floor over and over again, his hand waving around wildly with a manic grin on his face. Her health continued going down further and further, until there was only one HP left. "Any last words?" He asked, as Alphys weakly blinked up at him. "I'm sorry for underestimating you...and that you felt the need to resort to this to feel strong," she mumbled, before he dealt the final blow, a bone running her through the back. Alphys' white soul cracked, then split into pieces like glass, dissolving to dust with the rest of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I clipped off several thousand words to this chapter for the sake of getting some content out. The other half(halves? We'll see) of it should follow suit soon. This was initially going to be about 11k words, haha.


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